For What It's Worth
by Anime Borat
Summary: The spring began and it's just another day at school. However, a horrifying outbreak engulfs the world. While survival is the first thing in their minds, there are secrets hidden beneath, dangers to tread carefully, and the terrible answer to these events
1. Buffalo Springfield's Undead Springtime

**For What It's Worth**

Author's note: This is a crossover of Azumanga Daioh and Highschool of the Dead. I do not own either anime. Azumanga Daioh is the property of Kiyohiko Azuma and JC Staff; Highschool of the Dead is the property of Daisuke Saito and Madhouse Ltd. The title is derived from the song written by Stephen Stills and performed by Buffalo Springfield, which I heard at Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam's TGS trailer. The thing that really inspired me to create this fic thick is the physical resemblance of two characters: AD's Sakaki and HSOTD's Saeko Busujima. They're both hot! And it'll also include crossover bits of various anime as well as a Lovecraft-inspired back story. Thanks to some help with **Elred Bluegreen**. And also please read my other horror fic **Grimoire: The Lustbound Heart**.

**Chapter 1: Buffalo Springfield's Undead Springtime  
**

_Fears are nothing more than a state of mind. I can't remember I said that. I tell you everyone's scared here. You could see it in their eyes. It eats away at you. Ages you. I'm tired. I walk around 'Nam. Everyone does. Focused on one thing: staying alive._

-American soldier, Battlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnam State of Mind trailer.

The classroom hummed with all the usual activity in what could just be another day. Yukari in all her eccentricity, began the day's lessons. Outside, a sunny spring day gave the school an air of tranquility.

"Okay, who can tell me what an intransitive verb is?" She demanded from her class. In the heady spring morning, however, no one seemed inclined to answer. She grumbled to her class, "Come on, you little brats. I'm not gonna be asking Chiyo-chan to answer for your hollow little heads." Everyone sweat dropped at hearing that. Typical Yukari. Then Tomo raised her hand.

"I know what is," she answered proudly, "it's a verb that's too lazy to move." Dumbfounded silence.

Finally, Yukari spoke, "That sounds correct, Tomo." Then ranted, "BUT! You're way off the mark!" Without even pausing, Yukari's razor-sharp gaze snapped precisely to Osaka's forehead. "You! What do you think it means?"

Osaka returned Yukari's look almost listlessly, and widened. The huge, saucepan-sized eyes then met Yukari's unwaveringly, and bored through them straight into her brain. Pulling her attention away from existence. Yukari forgot where she was standing, absolutely horrified by the very sight of those eyes, tearing through the very fabric of time and space and wiping her memory clean.  
Then, Osaka blinked."I dunno. Is it a lazy verb?" She asked.

"S... stop raping my brain..." Yukari murmured, too low for anyone to hear... except for Osaka, who shook her head. _Miss Yukari's kinda weird sometime_s, she thought. Meanwhile, Eugene Gotou is receiving Math assignments from his students. Of course, anyone who doesn't have any earns a smack on the head. As he did he announced to his class.

"Okay, class. Today we will discuss the law of sines. But first a refresher drill." He made a quick review about the lessons from the previous week. Outside, Nyamo is managing her PE class.

She whistled her wards to stop and and broke out the lesson, "We're going to play volleyball today! Get into groups of six!" They complied and fell into formation. Back inside, Kimura's class is reciting their poems when he broke down into another one of his pedophilic rants.

"Oh yeah, the other day I was talking to another teacher at an all-girls school, and..." He groaned a bit and put his hand on his head, "When they have gym class... the students sometimes stay in their PE clothes for homeroom!" He pounded his clenched hands on the table and cried, "When it's swimming season... THEY COULD BE IN SWIMSUITS!" He began crying on the table, feeling that he had lost an opportunity at looking at highschool girls. Everyone in his class sweat dropped over the recent of his usual outbursts. As the day reached it's zenith, lunchtime began. All the students either stayed inside or milled out to the canteen for lunch. At the faculty room where most of the teachers eat, Gotou joined the teachers at the table. His bento contained food that might have been found in a US military MRE(Meal, Read-to-Eat).

"What's that?" Nyamo asked him as she looked at a piece of of white meat smothered in gravy with white lumps on top.

"Oh, this," he happily chuckled, "that's turkey breast with gravy & potatoes." And he produced another pack. "Here's my shrimp and mixed vegetables in white sauce." He opened it and revealed a hodgepodge of shrimp, diced carrots, corn, peas, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper strips and green beans covered in a blanket of creamy sauce. It seemed tasty but to Nyamo, it reminded her of airline food.

"That's food? I thought you were going to start teaching Science." Yukari jabbed slyly, "hey, is that growing smallpox or what?"

"It's healthier than your lunch. You ever wonder why no one talks in my class?" Gotou grinned. "Because I notice everything! This here," he pinned the turkey with his plastic spoon and waved it in front of Yukari's face, "is my secret. Packed with calories to keep you at your best! This one loaf could feed a man for a day!"

"Eh, no thanks, I'm watching my weight... and my good health." With this said, Yukari took a bite out of her candy bar. Kurosawa groaned at the irony, and the harebrainedness, of Yukari's thought. She noticed he was wearing his sleeves down a while go but now he's wearing them rolled up. It revealed some tattoos that he had on one of his arms. One of them depicted a pair of bayonet-tipped M16s crossed together with a jawless skull-faced parachute above them to form a Jolly Roger. On the chute is the sign emblazoned 82ND AIRBORNE: DROPPING DOWN HELL FROM 8000 FEET IN THE AIR. The other tattoo further up pictured a blue-and-green checkered shield with a streak of lightning across it. On the diagonal blue parts are a sun and and a star. Above is a ribbon sign that said 75 RANGER RGT. Although no teacher would be allowed to have tattoos, Gotou is an exemption. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he joined the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division when he was 17. At 1991, he signed up for the Rangers just in time for the Gulf War and had served from that year to 1996. He withdraw from service so he could take a college course as a Math teacher but he reenlisted for Regiment at 2000 and went into the Balkans as a part of the Kosovo Force. Right after the tragedy of 9/11, the Rangers were at the forefront of the War on Terror, spearheading the invasion of Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and then Iraqi Freedom. He was discharged at March 2005. The tattoos he got in his service were the mark of a military man, thus he was allowed to have them as long as he discreetly covered from the student's eyes.

"Look's like you're feeling lively today," she noted at his buoyed mood.

"I don't know but maybe it's the spring fever. It's got a way of getting to me sometimes." He replied as he ate his lunch.

The radio at the corner that was playing a pop song a while ago now announced, "Hey, Good Noon, I'm Naku AKA Nakuro Tanaka!" Said a man's voice.

"I'm Michi AKA Michiru Okinu!" Announced a woman's voice. The two voices on the radio then engaged on a conversation.

"Hey, Michi. Today's a wonderful spring day and the weather's a mild 30 degrees Celsius and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom."

"Yeah, I like this time in the year 'cause we can go flower gazing at night. It's full of nostalgia gazing at the flowers to remember all the wonderful times of your life."

"Speaking of nostalgia, we have a letter from Echo-Golf 82-75. He requested Buffalo Springfield's _For What It's Worth_."

"Oh, I love that song!" Said Michu. "My dad would listen to it when he drives his car to the beach on summer."

"Okay, now let's just, open the letter like this," a piece of paper was torn, "then play the record like this and put it in the air. Now on the air is _For What It's Worth_ by Buffalo Springfield." Then song began to fill the room with it's strumming guitars, giving the room a lazy relaxed air. Something more suited for summer than springtime. While very nice, the closest thing Nyamo could think of for a '60s song in a spring night is Ben E. King's _Stand by Me_.

She turned to him, "So, that's your favorite song. It's very relaxing." She unknowingly tapped her foot to the beat of the song.

_There's something happening here_  
_What it is ain't exactly clear_

"Yeah, I listen to that every time my dad goes home from managing shop at a beach resort in Honolulu. He also listened to it during his tour of duty in 'Nam." He explained. "He served with the 1st Cavalry from '65 to '71."

"I see," she replied. "So what brought you here to Japan?"

_There's a man with a gun over there_  
_Telling me I got to beware_

"I've got relatives here who recommended me to teach here. I got my knack for Math from my uncle who teaches at the University of Hawaii."

_I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound__  
Everybody look what's going down_

"I expected someone from Hawaii to be a bit relaxed," Nyamo noted, expecting that Hawaii's slow pace of life and aloha atmosphere would produce a easygoing and laid-back personality, not the macho military buff Gotou is.

_There's battle lines being drawn  
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong_

"Well, you can blame my uncle," he chuckled as he ate a piece of turkey, "he's quite the Math drill sergeant at my family."

"I can't blame you for that." Kurosawa took a bite of her beef ramen. Then she noted his choice of food. "Um, do you really eat something like that everyday?"

_Young people speaking their minds_  
_ Getting so much resistance from behind_

"No, I don't." He replied, "I sometimes eat heavy meals at my relatives' place and sometimes buy a week's worth of groceries."

_I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound_  
_ Everybody look what's going down_

A student rushed inside the faculty room. He was panting a lot and he looked worried. He said, "Excuse me, everyone. We have a problem outside." The teachers stood up, jolted by the student's tone of urgency.

_What a field-day for the heat_  
_ A thousand people in the street_

Immediately, Gotou's sleeves were down, concealing his tattoos from view, and his chair was knocked back. "What kind of problem?" He demanded. That was the drill- if there was a problem so large that the Teachers Lounge was breached, SOMEONE was answering to him, one way or another.

"It's, it's, there's someone who's down, sir! He's bitten!""

_It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound_  
_ Everybody look what's going down_

That did it. Eugene Gotou's killswitch had officially been flipped. He shut off the radio and tore out the doorway. The student barely had an opportunity to duck, narrowly avoiding being ground under the huge math teacher's boots.

* * *

Several moments earlier...

Chiyo, Osaka, Yomi, Tomo, Kagura and Sakaki went up the roof of the school, the door leading to it is open so it could let in air. They sat down and ate lunch on the brick plant boxes. From the top they can see the cherry blossoms at full bloom, their flowers coloring the sky pink while fleecy white clouds above move about lazily, complementing the heady beauty of spring.

"There's nothing like a rooftop lunch at springtime," Tomo said excitedly as she ate alongside meganneko Yomi. "You get a first class view of the entire school from here."

"Not to mention the breeze here is quite relaxing," Yomi added while munching on her Yakisoba-pan. She was concerned for her weight, eating food in smaller amounts lately.

"Oh so true, Yomi," the wildcat commented an easygoing smile on her face , "especially after a heavy workout that doesn't work at all."

_SMACK!_

In just two seconds she earned a hard knock on the head from Yomi, who clearly disliked her friend's fat jokes. "Yeoww!" she cried as she soothed the new lump on her head.

"I like eating here sometimes," Chiyo said as she sat down next to Sakaki. "The weather is nice and the breeze feels great too."

"Just sitting out here in the warm sunlight," Osaka yawned, "with the wind blowing through makes me all sleepy. And it makes me feel that I could fly away in my sleep." Then the spacey girl felt Chiyo tugging the cuff of her blouse, almost as though to keep from fulfilling that wish. She always felt goosebumps about Osaka's whimsical thoughts of jumping of the roof to fly. She then yawned loudly. It seemed that the universe had slowed down when Osaka looked around. Everyone was staring at her.

"What'cha all looking at me for?" She asked everyone.

After a few seconds, Kagura spoke, "Wow, that was greatest yawn I've ever heard." Indeed as her yawn was so long and loud and pleasant to here that anyone would notice that.

"Yeah, I couldn't take my eyes off it," Yomi replied, pleasantly amazed by the airhead's wide yaw.

Then Tomo pop out, "That was the greatest yawn I've seen in the history of yawning, the yawn where all yawns will judged!"

Osaka turned her head. "Really? Thanks." She said proudly, "Now that I think about it, I've been workin' at it my whole life."

Kagura could only look on in wonder as Osaka yawned again. "Wow... it's just so cool..."

"Don't get too absorbed in it." Yomi warned. Osaka had a way of repelling any and all rational thought away from her when she was acting like this... speaking of lack of rational thought, she remembered to check what Tomo was doing at the moment. She had a pair of binoculars pressed to her eyes and was looking out over the schoolyard."What're you up to now?" Yomi asked, more than a little suspicious. In response, Tomo chuckled deviously.

"You know that boy from Class 1? The baseball player?"

"Yeah, what's your point?"

"He looks really good in a swimsuit... just saying."

"You're spying on the boys' swim class? What're you hoping to accomplish by doing that?" To be honest, Yomi wasn't even surprised any more. Tomo would do that at times. "And besides, where'd you get those binoculars?"

Tomo shrugged. "They were up here."

"Ah... leftovers from some guy spying on the girls-"

"Holy crap!" Tomo recoiled, nearly dropping the binoculars, and than leaned against the fence of the roof intently. "His shorts just came off!" She squealed. Almost immediately, everyone but Chiyo and Osaka, came to the railings and peered through. As they did, they saw a boy in the distance covering his bare crotch with just his hands. They simply were stunned by what they saw. Tomo just smiled with glee when Yomi snatched the binoculars. She muttered, "Hey!"

"Sorry, Tomo," Yomi scolded, "but I don't want to be pulled into anymore of your nonsense today."

"Hey, no fair!" Tomo fumed, "why do you have to be such a killjoy?"

"'Cause the last thing I want is to get in trouble with you," she sternly answered, "what if the lenses bounced off some of the sunlight?" Then Tomo let out a catlike smile.

"Oh..." she said mischievously, "I see. What you really wanted to say is you wanted see them nude but you're in denial so yelled at me. You naughty girl."

_BOINK!_

She angrily smacked her head again. She shouted, "That's not it!" She tried to hit her a third time but she dodged it and ran away.

"Denial, denial, denial!" She playfully sang as Yomi chased her, satisfied that her mischief has garnered yet another victim to poke at, "Yomi likes naked boys!" Everyone else blushed at the rant. As they ran around, two more people emerged from the staircase leading to the roof. Chihiro and Kaorin came in wanting to eat at the roof.

"Wow, I didn't know you're eating here too," Chihiro said as they appeared. "I didn't expect anyone to be here."

"Yeah, well, we were about to leave." Yomi used the distraction to grab Tomo's elbow. Her grip was like a steel clamp.

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry." Tomo resisted, her voice strained with effort as she surreptitiously struggled against the crushing clutch of her 'friend,' "I'm sure that we won't get such a good view from anywhere else in the..."

_THWACK!_

Tomo was out cold. Yomi grinned triumphantly, while Chihiro and Kaorin watched in disbelief. Whatever, it was the fact that those two got into fights is common knowledge but this is the most violent outburst they witnessed so far- but comically satisfying. Kaorin commented, "Wow, Tomo. Is there any day where you don't make a scene...?" She turned her head to another direction was struck by lightning: on the plant box is her 'crush' Miss Sakaki. She gasped excitedly as she calmly ate lunch on the plant box with Chiyo. She felt her body tremble in the awe that is Sakaki.

"Miss Sakaki..." she stammered. Then she rushed to her side, "I didn't expect you to be here." She was all fidgety at seeing her on top of the roof.

"Uh..." Sakaki queitly replied, "I'm just eating with my friends. The roof is nice during the springtime."

Chiyo cheerily invited Kaorin, "Would you like to eat with us, Kaorin?"

The wind blew the tall girl's hair dramatically and the scent of cherry blossoms hung heavily. It was all too romantic for her to handle. It was her fantasy coming true! Then reality came back to her.

"Excuse me, Kaorin... Would you like to sit down?" Sakaki asked her. Kaorin hastily collected herself, her fantasy almost getting the better of her.

"Okay, I'll sit down," she quickly said, sitting right beside her. She then opened her bento to eat with them. She noticed that they haven't finished their lunches. It'll be good time to talk with them. As Yomi dragged the wildcat back to the plant box, Kagura was looking through the dropped binoculars. She was looking at some people playing volleyball.

She noted, "Wow, they sure are having fun while everyone's eating lunch. Hope they don't faint in the heat." One of the players then served the ball. An opponent spiked it, hitting so hard that it flew high up then over the wall. Everyone below muttered until a boy ran in.

"_I'll get it!_" He distantly shouted as he climbed over the wall with the help of several companions. He chucked over the redoubt and disappeared. Kagura wondered how did anyone would get their feet to the ground safely from a wall that high. Then she went back to join the others, not realizing how hungry she actually is until after that ruckus caused by Tomo.

"So what's the news for summer...?" She asked.

* * *

Outside the boy found and picked the volleyball lying beside the fire hydrant. He was going back to the school gate when he heard some heavy footsteps from behind him. He looked behind and noticed a man walking listlessly on the pavement. His face is dull and lifeless; he looked as if he was just dragging his feet like a drunk. He said to him, "Good noon, sir. Need any help?" The man did not answer and continued amble on. He approached him and asked again, "Is there anything wrong, sir?" Then he turned on him.

"_AAARRGHH!_" A short piercing scream startled the girls, who jumped to their feet. Tomo got the binoculars and all the girls rushed to the railings.

"My God!" Yomi shouted, "What the hell is that?" Tomo looked at the source of the scream.

"Look here, Yomi." She said breathlessly as she handed her the binocs. Yomi looked through the glasses and gasped. The boy who jumped of the wall was now clutching his arm, blood dripping all over his arm. He was now running for his life from a figure that seemed like a sick drug addict, who gave chase rather limply.

He rushed for his life from the maniacal figure after him. He panted frantically as he squeezed his bitten arm to stop the bleeding. He shouted, "Somebody! Help me!" He repeated his cries for help until he reached the gate. A delivery truck stopped at the gate. He frantically ran in as it slowly opened. The people who opened gasped in horror as they saw him. "There's a rabid drunk on the loose!" He warned to his rescuers.

"Get in!" shouted one of them, motioning the truck to get in, then he ordered his colleagues, "And close the gate!" The truck got inside as they closed the gate. In the heat of the moment, however, they did not notice another person slowly getting in. Then it disappeared among the trees of the school.

* * *

The teachers, led by the student, scrambled to the victim. Gotou stepped forward and asked urgently, "What the hell happened here?"

"It's Mikami Katsu, Mr. Gotou." Said a custodian . "He's been bitten pretty badly!"

"Shit..." Katsu moaned, lying down and wincing as they made a makeshift bandaged in his arm. "Some guy bit me."

"Where is he? I wanna see him." He demanded. But he got his answer when something knocked the gate. They all looked back and saw what caused the noise: a man in a jacket. His eyes are a dull lifeless gray. His skin is also in the same sickening color, almost as if it was rotting off his body. Like messed-up windup toy, he just knocked the gate. Everyone backed out in fear. Except, Gotou. He froze like statue, his breathing becoming hard and his heart beat wildly. He was at Afghanistan, at a location that he still remembered. _Yes... he was there... he saw it all... near Herat... near the Iranian border... They... He should have seen it... coming... It came here..._

_He was looking at the figure before him from behind a heavy glass pane. He wore a Desert Camouflage Uniform and written on his patch is HASHWELL. His skin was rotted gray, instant necrosis. His eyes were pale and rolled up. He made terrifyingly savage lunges against the pane trying to get to the Ranger standing before him, who fell on his back at the horrible figure. He saw the horrible transformation took place before his eyes.  
_

"Ach!" Katsu yelled, writhing as another wave of pain shot through his body. His struggles became more and more forceful, more rabid, and seemingly animalistic. Gotou, unlike the high-school students around him, who were starting to panic, seemed to recognize what was happening and changed his approach entirely. A biting attack, almost instinctive, rabid yanking, and...  
before their eyes, Katsu lunged forward with his teeth bared, stopped short by Gotou's quick response. He crashed his fist into the solar plexus, knocking Katsu a few feet away from him. He grabbed his arm and threw him over his back, his lightning fast moves stunned everyone. As his opponent quickly recovered, he gave a hard right hook to the face, causing him to fall on his back.

"Somebody give me something heavy!" He barked.

"Here!" Shouted the gardener, who tossed him a rake. He caught it mid-air and quickly raised the butt end pointed to the ground. He sudden thrust it into his chest. Katsu groaned wildly as he suddenly buried the pole into his heart, his death throes terrifying everyone.

"Jesus Christ!" Kurosawa shouted, "What the hell did you just do to him!"

"Saving our asses, that's what!" He tersely replied as he backed away from the corpse. All of a sudden, Katsu lunged forward, letting out a guttural growl. Gotou immediately fell on his back as he rose again. But the rake jutting out of his chest made him unstable, making the student wobble and stoop, with the protruding garden tool keeping him off the ground. Thinking quickly, he slipped a foot behind his, hooking it in and instantly slid it across, flipping him on his back. Back on his feet, he planted a foot on his and pulled out the rake. And used the makeshift lance on the head.

_SPUSHWAK!_

The sickening crush and gush of the head being pierced by a pointed object made everyone sick to the stomach. He looked back at them and let the rake fall to the ground clanging. Panting, he wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm and said to them, "Now that's how you kill a rabid drunk." And he did a sign of the cross as though to remove some hex casted upon him. The man on the gate simply rocked his body against the metal edifice.

* * *

At the roof everyone saw the event and was taken aback by the suddenness. They were breathless by how the boy turned violent and tried to kill everybody within arm's length. Only to have his life ended in the hands of the hardassed Math teacher. Yomi put her hand on her mouth in surprise. Sakaki held Chiyo closely to her arms, the eleven-year old visibly scared by what happened below. Chihiro vomited her lunch and was taken down downstairs by a visibly shaken Kaorin. Only Tomo smiled with excitement, as though it were an action movie.

"Wow!" she squawked with joy. "Did you see that? Those moves? I bet this Gotou guy is _badass!_" She emphasized the last word with glee.

Yomi, clearly disgusted at her friend's cries of joy of something so horrible, barked, "What the hell's wrong with you! He just killed a student!"

"A student who tried to attack him." She chirped at Yomi. "And finished him off with his awesome moves!"

"That's not the damn point! You're acting all happy when someone just died!"

"Hey!" she reminded her, "that someone tried kill people. Besides, let's just let this sort of thing blow over."

"That's easy for you to say!" Yomi snapped, "you think it's all a comedy when everything just took a turn for the worst!"

Kagura got between the two, "Chill, you guys. It was self-defense. He's keeping him from hurting anyone." Her voice strained from watching the bloody spectacle. She could not just believe what she saw. "God... I can't believe it..." She muttered. Osaka, unmoved, during the whole time, finally spoke.

"He was okay before he attacked them, right?" she nonchalantly asked. The three girls turned to him, wanting to asked her.

"What?" Kagura asked.

"She's right." Yomi confirmed. "He didn't go berserk before that."

"And we heard him scream too, plus that guy appeared." Tomo added, pointing to the distant figure knocking the gate. They all turned eyes on 'it'. They could not believe something like that would happen. An eerie chill went down their spines.

"You mean?" Kagura spoke, "that gate humper?" At the corner, two girls hugged each other, trying to keep calm.

"I'm scared, Miss Sakaki," Chiyo sobbed as the tall girl embraced her protectively. Although a high-school student with above average IQ, she was technically a child and therefore very prone to fear in most situations. Sakaki felt scared too, not only for herself but for Chiyo, who would be completely helpless if a similar situation befell on her.

"Don't worry," she comforted quietly, "It's going to be fine. Just go back to the classroom. You'll be safe there-"

"I don't wanna go back!" She cut her off, hugging her tightly. "I wanna stay with you." She was crying now. Sakaki also wanted let out a tear. Foreboding hung heavily in the spring air. Something's coming up but they could not tell what.

* * *

"My God..." Nyamo said. "I can't believe it..." She could not fathom why would someone still attack anything in sight despite taking the full blow of a rake through the chest.

Then Yukari cut in, "The big question is what the hell is he doing here." She meant the man ramming the gate with his body. Everyone found his lifeless appearance quite disturbing. The empty stare and the gaping mouth reminded the English teacher of Osaka and Kimura respectively... and not in a very good way.

Gotou remained silent. He panted heavily as he could believe how these... zombies... got here. And it chilled him even more to know where they might have come from. He then turned to one of the volleyball players who were around and asked her sternly, "What happened here? What the hell's Katsu doing outside?"

"I-I'm s-sorry, sir," she stammered, "he was just getting the ball."

"By jumping over the wall?"

"We thought we could just get it ourselves." She whimpered.

"Goddamned it! You should have reported it whoever was in charge!" He growled. The girl put her hands on her and sobbed, blaming herself for getting him killed.

"Jesus Christ," Kurosawa scolded him, "calm down. They're just trying to retrieve the ball." She embraced her told her, "Don't cry, it'll be alright."

"Okay..." he sighed himself down. He had been strict with students but this is the first time he actually snapped at one. He called out to the other volleyball players, "All of you, get whoever's in charge right here and get your friends at the gym right now. You'll all be safe there until this blows over." They all nodded meekly and went off. He added, "Be sure to check if the gym's secure while you're there."

"Mr. Kato," he told the custodian, "go with those kids. They'll need someone to keep an eye on them."

"Alright," replied Kato, stalking off to join them.

"Yamada," he turned to another boy, "help this girl to the gym."

"Alright," he complied. Yamada turned to Nyamo, "Miss Kurosawa, let me help her. And somebody give me a hand here..." Nyamo handed the sobbing girl to the boy and his friends.

"What's going on here? We heard some shouting." called out the principal as he jogged to gates with the volleyball players' PE teacher, Mori. Instinctively, Gotou turned about face like the soldier he is, ready to give him a sitrep.

"Sir, we have urgent situation in our hands right here." He said crisply, standing attention.

"Gotou, what the hell are you doing giving orders to my students?" grunted Mori in annoyance, hips on his hands. To him it seemed like Gotou is overstepping his boundaries, acting like an overbearing drill sergeant. Then Mori stopped when he looked at Katsu's corpse on the ground, sustaining serious injuries on his head and chest.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the principal. Until he was stopped on his tracks on the corpse on the ground. And of the figure ramming the gates. He gasped in ignored him and turned to Mori.

"It's one of your students, Mr. Mori. He jumped over the wall to get the ball and got attacked by this guy." He gestured to the man on the gate and then told them about how he tried to attack him and how he was forced to kill him.

"But how could this be..." The principal found everyone's account of the incident too incredible to comprehend, especially how he took a rake to his chest and still go crazy, and even more in the Math teacher's concise manner of explanation. "I can't believe this. Getting up after thrusting a rake's blunt end through the chest and all because he was bitten? That is absurd."

"I know but it did," he said. "Listen, we've got to get everybody to gym right now. Something bad's going down and I can feel it."

"Feel what?" Mori asked skeptically with his arms crossed. "Hell, Gotou, you may be an ex-Ranger but your instincts won't work here. That... guy," he said with disgust, feeling his stomach churn from looking at his dead face, "is outside and while we're safe in here. Let's get the police to grab this guy's ass."

"That's easy for you to say," he retorted. "but you don't set up camp on a LZ unless _you're absolutely sure it's secure_." He used military analogy with emphasis on the last words, hopefully to get the message to that blockheaded asshole Mori. The principal stepped in, knowing the word war between the two would not help their situation.

"We don't need dramatics!" He asserted, "we need solutions!" The two backed down at this. He then asked Gotou, "You are sure that 'thing' attacked Katsu and made him attack you."

"Yes, sir." He and everyone else around explained about it. He then asked, "What are our options?"

"Options?" The principal raised an eyebrow. Then said, "We can call the police and medical services then get everyone to gym as you suggested and wait it out. Or we could cut class right now."

"What the hell?" Gotou remarked, "No offense, sir, that'll make things worst than they are a while ago-"

A student sibilantly emerged from the small crowd and said, "Excuse me, everyone. I think I saw someone loitering the school."

"Hey!" snapped Mori, "don't interrupt! This is an urgent matter-!" The boy got scared out of his wits.

"Cut it out, everyone!" Gotou harshly whispered, gesturing his hands to tell them to stop, "he's got something to tell." He then turned the student and asked him. "Did you say you saw someone loitering around school. A student?"

"I don't think so," he replied, trying to sound coherent in the tension-filled atmosphere, "he's a guy wearing a suit. I saw him walking like deadwood near the trees but he disappeared when I called out to him."

"Alright, alright," he said, "that's okay. Thanks for your help. But he thought,_ Goddamnit! Why'd you not tell me that before? We've been fucking compromised__!_ Nyamo looked at Gotou's shocked face.

"Gotou?" asked Nyamo, "What did he say?"

To that he replied slowly, "Someone's inside. Our security's compromised." Everyone felt their blood run cold at hearing that latest development. Most of all the principal, knowing well the danger it presented itself now. He then asked Gotou, feeling his expertise drawn from his Army days can be of good use.

"What are your suggestions, Mr. Gotou?"

Gotou finally collected himself and elaborated his plan as though he was discussing how to take out an MG nest, "Okay, we'll have to get everyone in the gym but we don't want panic in our hands. Let's say it's an emergency fire drill. That way, hell won't break lose. Get on the public address system and tell everyone to report to their classrooms for the drill. Then get the teachers and class reps to bring everyone the gym but only on your instructions, Mr. Hajime. At the same time, we get the police, paramedics, the fire department, and the whole Ground Self-Defense Force if necessary, on the horn. We wait it out until they come. And we should evac anyone from the clinic to the stage."

"Agreed," Mori joined in, "let's roll-"

"Not yet," he cut in, "we need to assess the threat first. I'll go look for this guy." He then turned to a student, "What's your name?"

"Sakura Tanaka," she replied.

"All right, Miss Tanaka, I need you to go look for the class rep of 2-E, Makoto Koga, and tell him to assemble the entire class at the gym but don't tell them why, if they did asked just say I said so, alright?"

"Yes, sir." she replied.

"Okay, go." The girl ran back to the main building. He said to Yukari, "Tanizaki, I want you to keep your mouth shut about all of this unless necessary. I don't want you raving about anything that'll cause a riot." He knew how notorious Yukari is throughout the school, saw he made extra sure she kept her word.

"Alright, Gotou," she grudgingly agreed, "I'll try to keep my mouth shut until then."

"I mean it. I don't want any killed on my watch, or your watch for that matter." He turned to Nyamo, "Kurosawa, on me."

"What?" she followed him as jogged to the direction of the trees.

"I need your help in hunting this bastard. We need to take him down."He turned back to another member of the maintenance staff, "Finish that gate humper." He nodded slowly in reply before taking the rake.

Then the gardener followed suit. "Hey, wait for me. I've got tools in the shed you'll be needing..." As the trio went way, the principal turned to the other teachers.

"Alright, let's not waste anymore time and do what Gotou says," he said and they all moved out. he then turned to the students. "Report to your class or to the gym and don't tell anyone about this right now." They all meekly agreed and moved out. The man left behind raised a stick at the figure and finished it off.

The spring blossoms masked a sense of danger and horror that covered the school in a thick blanket. So thick that they have barely any idea about what it is.

* * *

A/N: Eugene Gotou is based on a Math teacher who was featured on the first episode of Azumanga Daioh while his surname came from a brief mention from Episode 4, where Kimura mentioned that he had him substitute for his class. Enjoy the story and give reviews and advice. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. XD.


	2. Idus Martii: The Ides of March

**Chapter 2: Idus Martii(The Ides of March)**

_"-Beware of the Ides of March,"_

-William Shakespeare,

Julius Caesar(_Act 1, scene 2, 15–19_)

I haven't featured the heroes of Fujimi Academy at the first chapter. Fortunately here, they get their debut. And so is my first OC. Gotta thank **Elred Bluegreen** for the SCP Foundation website. And special thanks to **Rpgingmaster **and **Jm1681**.

* * *

Earlier at Fujimi Academy, three students, two boys and one girl, battled their way through the hordes of walking corpses, their skin sporting a hideous gray hue. The view in their end is the roof. More specifically the observatory.

"Hurry!" Takashi Kumoro shouted to the others and bashed another one with his bat. More of 'them' climbed the roof, trying to impede their flight and feed on their flesh.

As they climbed up the steps to the dome, Takashi turned to another boy with an improvised bandage on his arm. "Are you alright, Hisashi?" He asked as he helped him up. The girl turned around to see a zombie trying to catch up with them. In fury, she yelled and stabbed it with her improvised lance, which came from a mop with its head torn off.

Takashi turned to her. Knowing the danger she was putting herself and them into, scolded her, "You idiot!"

"But-!" she tried to reply but the stabbed corpse grabbed the lance, took it out if its chest and batted it on her belly, knocking her back against the wall. The corpse drew itself on all fours like an animal to the girl, who was seized with paralyzing fear at its hideous sight.

She raised her arms as a shield against futilely, "NO! STOP IT!" She screamed as it moved spider-like towards her.

Hisashi saw her in danger and shouted, "Re- Rei!" He shouted and grabbed the bat despite Takashi trying to restrain him for his injury. He dashed down the steps and cracked 'its' head with the bat.

_BRACK!_

The end for her never came and she stood up, jubilant and grateful for the one who saved her, "Hisashi!" She called out his name.

"See that?" He explained to her, "You gotta smash their heads to kill them." He then saw a zombified girl ambling up to get them. He rushed down and kicked her in the chest. 'She' tumbled down the steps until she fell on the back with her neck snapped brutally at the bottom.

"Rei! Hisashi!" Takashi called out again, "Come on, let's go!"

"Yeah..." Hisashi weakly replied, not feeling well in his self. Seeing that they safely made it, he turned to the scene below. Takashi Kumoro could not believe that this... 'this'... is happening.

"Man...," he said to himself, "what the fuck...?" It was all from a horror movie: corpses coming back to life after being bitten, rising up to feed on the living. They moan horribly and are driven only by primitive instinct. They were everywhere... he could see them attacking the more unlucky people in the campus. He wanted answers, not knowing what else to think. He cried out to the heavens, "What the fuck is going on!"

* * *

Up the roof, the girls watched as some of the maintenance staff discreetly disposed of the bodies. They hurriedly closed the gate after dragging the 'gate humper's' corpse, fearing there might be more of those... 'things'.

"Something weird's going on," Tomo said. Yomi turned her head slowly.

"Quite true...," Yomi agreed. She looked at the staff taking the corpses to nowhere.

"And in a spring day," Kagura noted. "I feel something's wrong here."

"I think that guy's hungry," Osaka said with all the airiness that was her trademark. It sounded rather idiotic right now but it gave Tomo an opportunity to use some of her minuscule brain power.

"Aha!" She cried triumphantly with her hands on her hips, "That guy must have been a zombie!" That earned her dumbfounded glances from Tomo and Kagura, who _could not_ believe what they just heard.

"What?" Yomi asked with surprise, "A zombie? Look, Tomo, having something like this is bad enough but you have to-!" She was clearly angry about Tomo trivializing the moment at hand.

"But don't you see," Tomo protested, "we heard a scream from Katsu, and there was this guy literally screwing the gate and he was in pain before tried to attack Gotou. You notice something?" She sounded and looked very serious.

"You're right...," Yomi gasped at that thought, "I saw a bloody wound wrapped in a piece of clothe on his arm through binoculars."

"Jesus," Kagura muttered, quite not believing it herself, "it could be just fast-acting rabies or him cracking up from something."

"But that's where most zombie viruses come from, Yomi." Osaka explained.

"See," Tomo pointed to Osaka, "I have someone who knows this too."

"Really, Osaka," Kagura said skeptically.

"Well... well... I don't know, I just want to find out what's going on here!" Yomi looked around. "Hey, where's Chiyo?" They looked around the roof. No sign of her. Or that of Sakaki, Kaorin and Chihiro.

"Hmm," Yomi said, "guess they gone down."

Downstairs, Sakaki was leading Chiyo by the hand. She already wiped the tears from, her eyes. They got back to their classroom, which was still empty save for a boy looking absently out the window.

They sat down. "Chiyo," Sakaki began, "it's alright now. We're here." Chiyo slowly looked up at Sakaki. Fear still remained in her eyes.

"Thank... you, Miss Sakaki," she replied weakly. The tall girl embraced her tightly. To Chiyo, it was comforting to have her by right beside her. Sakaki would never let her be in harm's way. Everything outside seemed to loom ominous at the classroom.

"What's going on?" The boy asked them. They didn't reply for a while. Finally, Sakaki spoke.

"Just something bad happened outside," she said, still not letting Chiyo go.

"What is it?"

"A fight between two students. It's over now." She explained.

"Oh...," he said, a little stupefied, "would that be by any chance be between Tomo and Yomi-"

"No," Sakaki cut him off.

"Okay," he said nonplussed and turned back to the window. Chiyo calmed down a bit. The girls turned to the door when Chihiro had just entered.

"Hey, guys, you're here," Chihiro said as she sat down beside them, "I didn't expect to in the classroom this early."

"Well, I have to take Chiyo here downstairs. She was shaken up badly from what happened a while ago," She quietly replied as she patted Chiyo's shoulders reassuringly. "Where's Kaorin?"

"I took her to the clinic. She was pretty shaken up too," she replied.

"I see," Sakaki said.

"Can I stay with you?" Chihiro asked.

"Sure, it'd be nice." She sat beside them. Sakaki was calm but unnerved. She felt something outside is coming to bring hell. But what kind of hell is it. she didn't know. It could only spell danger for her and her friends. She looked Chihiro talking to Chiyo. They're calm now for the moment. She was relieved. Then her phone rang. Usually, there's that policy on cellphones that Chiyo abides that mentioned they can't bring any to class but she usually uses it for emergencies. She put it on talk.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Chiyo, is that you?"

"This is your daddy," the caller replied.

"Daddy?" Chiyo asked worriedly.

"Listen, things at the meeting have..." There was a crash from the other side of the line, followed by screaming. "Now... listen, I want you to get back to the house as soon as you can and lock all the doors. If your mother and I don't get back by tomorrow, I want you to call Chuck."

"What's going on over there? Are you..."

"Yes, yes, sweetie, we're fine. Just do as I asked, OK?" Chiyo was getting more and more scared by the second. She knew her father enough to tell when he was lying.

"Tell me what's going on over there!" She demanded, "Why are you telling me this? It's like you're not planning on BEING back home!"

"Chiyo... this isn't the time to argue. It's for your safety, now..." Abruptly, the line went dead. Chiyo looked at her phone for a while before putting it back to her pocket. She was scared now.

"Chiyo," Chihiro asked, "is something wrong?" She didn't reply. Her face had turned pale. When Sakaki helped her to her seat, she felt her cold clammy skin. She knew that something is wrong on the other line - and sensed that it has something to do with whatever is happening at the school in one way or another.

"Take it easy, Chiyo," Sakaki said softly to keep her mind out of the worst possible think off. "You're mom and dad will be okay."

There was a pause. Chiyo finally said with a shaky voice, "My mom... and dad... will be... okay..." She finally cried loudly and embraced Sakaki.

Back at the roof, the argument continued. "But it's true, it must have been a zombie outside," Tomo pressed on.

"And I say it isn't," Yomi remained skeptical, "keep your head rooted in reality!"

Tomo didn't take kindly to that. She was convinced of what she saw. "C'mon, Yomi! Listen to me for a change. You saw the wound? It has to be something like that!"

"A wound we spotted from less than two hundred yards," she retorted. "Did you really think rabies would cause someone to go ballistic instantly?"

"That didn't sound like rabies. It had to be something else."

Seeing the two heated up over the incident below, Kagura intervened, "Hey, the two of you need to chill. We're jumping into conclusions here." It was certainly out of character for them to argue that violently. The two stood down, their egos bruised from their verbal sparring as they reluctantly absorbed the logic of the moment. Kagura is right, _they_ are jumping into conclusions and it is not helping them resolve anything. Even if they are only at the fringes of it.

Yomi sighed, "Thanks, Kagura. You're right about that."

"Don't mention it, Yomi," the swimmer graciously smiled. It was quite confident and reassuring to them.

"Come to think of it," Tomo interjected, "How 'bout Gotou? He and everyone down there huddled for a while before they left off." There was some tension-filled silence.

"I think I knew why," Yomi finally spoke, "they'd probably keep quiet about it until they could do something."

"Like what?" Tomo raised an eyebrow, "Like hiding the bodies and disposing them later?"

"That's not what I mean," she explained, "we don't know anything about it and they sure as hell don't know either. What I mean is that it's best to keep quiet for the moment. We have like a thousand students here. They don't want panic in anyway."

"Oh... I see," she replied like kindergartner who was getting an explanation on the facts of life. Yomi and Kagura sighed with frustration over her partial inability take anything seriously.

"Jesus, Tomo, how about taking it seriously for a change, huh?" Kagura said. They didn't notice that Osaka had been spacing out the whole time they were talking. She drifted to her cloud-cuckoo-land. In it, she recalled the only game where she actually played against zombies: Plants vs. Zombies. In their she was singing and dancing with the sunflower and the zombies. She began to absentmindedly sing Zombies On Your Lawn.

The three other girls gave her odd looks. Kagura said, "What is going on in your mind, Osaka?"

The airheaded girl stopped in her tracks. She waved worriedly, "I didn't sleep in class, Miss Yukari! I swear!"

"Hey, Osaka," Kagura said, "Chill out. We're still on the roof." Osaka looked around. She's still definitely on the roof. Kagura added, "What the hell are you singing for? This is serious, Osaka."

"Oh," She replied simply, "I'm sorry. I just got carried away."

"Well," Yomi replied, "You better keep your head together in this one because we're in some serious trouble which we don't know what-" Some footsteps from the door cut Yomi off. It was one of the maintenance staff.

"What are your kids doing here?" He said, "get in back below." The girls, shocked, couldn't answer him at all. With a sigh he crossed his arms, "C'mon, I don't have all day." They all nodded and went down.

"Looks like they're getting worked up on this," Kagura commented.

"No kidding," Tomo added. They saw two three people move to the school's small parking lot. They ignored them and went downstairs.

* * *

Kurosawa and Gotou jogged towards the latter's car. He took out the keys from his pocket and got in. Inside he extracted a few items from the glove compartment. He climbed out, closed the door and locked it. He unlocked the trunk and took out a satchel of some sort then carrying it on his back.

"What's that?" She asked about the satchel on his back.

"It's my survival kit," he replied.

Perplexed, she said, "A survival kit? What for?"

He adjusted the straps, "A long story." And he took out something from his pocket. It was a Walther PPK pocket automatic. Nyamo was shocked. He unloaded it and checked the magazine and the chamber. He loaded it back in and pulled back the slide.

"What the hell are you doing with a gun in school!" She whispered harshly. It was unbelievable.

"Again, long story," he replied, "but we don't have time for it now." The gardener came back with tools.

"I've got something...," He paused when he saw the gun in his pocket. "What the hell are you doing with a gun in school?" Gotou put on the safety and tucked in his belt. He then concealed it with his coat.

"Well, it's a little hard to explain," he replied, "but don't worry. It's only for a worst-case scenario." He took a spade from him. "Thanks, Mr. Hashima. Right now, we need something like this right now." He handed Nyamo a lug wrench in addition to her garden hoe. The PE teacher duly tucked it in her belt.

"Alright, let's move out," he said and they all went to hunt 'him' down. They began at the walls inside the campus. Midway, he received a call from his cellphone, he pressed the talk button.

"Mr. Gotou," the voice on the other end of the line said, "Makoto Koga here."

"Yes, it's me," Gotou replied, "did you assemble the class at the gym?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, I need you to get me the principal." At the other end of the line, Koga got to his feet and left the gym. He went towards the school building. Rushing by other students, he made it to the principal's office. He knocked on the door.

"Enter, please," The principal said curtly to the outsider. It was not in his nature to be cold. Tough with the students, yes, very tough, but not cold; he was frightened. Frightened of the developing crisis at hand.

Panting for a while, he said to him, "It's Mr. Gotou, sir." He raised the phone to him. The principal took it from his hand and used it.

"Hello?"

"It's me, sir." Gotou began, "Listen, I think you need to call in everyone in their classrooms. We need to assemble everyone and get 'em ready to travel to the gym."

"Alright, Mr. Gotou," the principal quickly replied. "But have you found the intruder?"

"Negative," he replied, "he's out there somewhere but we have to get the students ready. I'll tell you when I get him and you can make the call."

"Consider it done," he put it on 'mute' and turned to another teacher, Miss Hattore, "Miss Hattore, I need you to get on the PA now."

"Alright sir," she replied in attention.

"Okay, listen to me carefully," He gave out what to say word for word. She nodded and went on duty. But before she go to the PA, she took a glance at the window and gasped.

"Sir, I think you need to look out the window," she said to the principal. He stood up and gasped. From where he stood, he could see a crowd at the gate. The people moved about listlessly and they looked... dead. And it's slowly getting bigger.

"Oh my God," he gasped. He went back to Gotou, "Gotou, something bad just came up."

"What?"

"There's a crowd of those 'things' outside," the principal replied, his voice shaky and frightened.

Gotou thought to himself, _Shit! More of them!_ The situation went from bad to worst. He sighed stressfully and paused for a few seconds, the principal can hear his breathing from the phone.

"Gotou?" He asked. Finally coming up with something, he responded.

"Sir, we still go with the evac as planned. I want you to get the teachers and class reps to tell them to keep their students moving regardless of what's happening outside." He then added with emphasis, "_Under no circumstances will the gates be opened until help arrives._"

"Alright," the principal nodded, "understood. Tell me when to go."

"'Kay. And further more, have the maintenance staff to get something heavy to barricade the gym doors and help in the evac."

Excuse, Gotou," Kurosawa said, "I also need my class rep to take over right now."

"Alright," he replied. He added on the phone, "Get the class rep of Miss Kurosawa's class. Brief him on the situation and tell him what to do. And tell him to keep quiet."

"I'll do it," the principal promised before putting it on mute. "Miss Hattore, to the PA system, now."

"Yes," she replied quickly and went on the air.

* * *

The school's public address system crackled to life. The announcer tested it before she made her statement: "All students please report to their classrooms immediately. There will be an emergency fire drill conducted shortly. All class representatives, please gather your students and await further instructions. All faculty and maintenance personnel, please gather at the principal's office. The class representative of Miss Kurosawa's class, please report as well. Thank you." Everyone who heard were a little puzzled before they slowly obeyed the summons.

"What's going on outside?" Asked Lorenz Kreuzthart, a German exchange student sitting with three others at the canteen. They were puzzled by some odd shouts from outside the school.

"Beats me," replied Masaaki Ohyama as he forked his pork cutlet. "Probably another guy getting his ass handed down for going too far." He remembered about some of the other students are causing trouble in school. Most likely playing a prank or something.

"Yeah, Doc," Ryo added, "why don't we finish lunch before we get back." He addressed Lorenz by his nickname Doc, due to a sort of resemblance to Rammstein keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz, who also sported that nickname. And he also had blond hair similar to the way Flake once dyed his hair although Lorenz's hair was of natural color, and wore glasses, plus the fact that his first name Lorenz was the surname of the rock keyboardist and not to mention Rammstein was one of his favorite bands.

"_Ja_, I agree," Lorenz replied with his strong German accent, "let's finish lunch." The three boys finished their lunches and went back out to the nearby faucets to clean their lunch packs. As Masaaki finished with his, he noticed a group of people carrying two sacks outside. There are some red spots on them. It was quite chilling. He patted on Ryo's shoulder.

"What the hell is that?" He asked him. Ryo looked at the sack carriers.

"I don't know," he replied, "but something's a little fishy here." Lorenz looked at the sacks as well.

"_Mein Gott_," he gasped, "is that blood?" His mouth was wide open and he dropped his spoon and plastic lunch pack into the sink.

"I... don't know," Masaaki replied, feeling a chill down his bones, "let's just hurry and get back to the classroom." They quickly finished and moved on, not quite getting that ominous feeling off their shoulders. He regarded him. The bespectacled German looked back at him with his odd-colored eyes. He had Heterochromia iridum. His left eye was light-green, while his right is light gray. It gave him a rather uneasy appearance but that wasn't the case right now. Both boys were uneasy about the sacks. The trio were seated in class. In it were Sakaki, Chiyo, Kagura, Tomo, Yomi, Chihiro, Kaorin and one boy. Then the rest of the class came. Yukari finally arrived and scribbled something on the board. It said CLASS BE SEATED AND KEEP QUIT! Everyone awkwardly obeyed.

"Okay, everyone," she began in an annoyed manner, "we're gonna an emergency fire drill today so I want you to not act like crazy while we're on it." Everyone sweat dropped.

"Hey, Lorenz," Ryo whispered, "isn't Yukari crazy or what?"

"_Ja_," Lorenz felt a little nonplussed by the English teacher's eccentricity. But flying piece of chalk went straight to Ryo's forehead.

"Ugh," he cried as he was knocked back on the floor.

"Hey, don't talk like that while I'm talking," she snapped.

_On second thought, it doesn't sound like a good idea to mention one's quirks_, he quickly thought. But he was not safe from her wrath as well.

"Hey, German boy!" She cried at Lorenz. He felt honest-to-God scared of that. He could clearly see that she's rather angry and irritated. "Were you talking to him?"

"Uh... _nein_," he replied nervously and sweated. He let out a nervous smile.

"Nine? Are you trying to call me a moron?" She raged.

"No, Miss Yukari," he replied trembling.

"I don't take that too kindly so why don't you come in front of class and drill!"

_Scheisse,_ he gulped, _not again!_ Yukari likes to do that to him.

"Now, step in front and do the military fairy!" She shouted. He stepped in front, chest out, stomach in and did what he was told. As he pranced like a fairy, causing the class to laugh hard, Yukari still had one lingering worry: the 'thing' outside. She thought to herself, _Can there be more of them?_ She noticed Chiyo, her face quite pale and her expression is one of dread. She gulped slightly.

_She saw it too_, she thought. And Sakaki was not laughing too. In any case, she didn't expect her to laugh. She sat down at her desk and enjoyed Lorenz's impromptu dance.

* * *

"Stay sharp, maintain noise discipline," Gotou whispered to them as they stalked the sides of the school carefully, looking for clues of the 'stranger'. He moved carefully so as not create any noise. Kurosawa looked around her sides and back watchfully, hoping the 'stranger' doesn't stalk them or double back.

"What do you know about this guy?" She asked nervously, "If there's something you're hiding from me, I need to know. Especially when the safety of our students is the question."

"It's not that guy I'm worried about. It's who he bites." Gotou replied harshly. "THAT'S what's going to lead to problems, Kurosawa."

The gardener looked all around with apprehension, his hands shaking with dread at what they will find out. A faint sound rustled behind them and the gardener quickly spun behind with the spade, ready to fight for his life. It startled them. Gotou and Kurosawa looked behind. It just a gust of wind blowing a few leaves away. They sighed with relief.

"Don't do that again," Gotou silently snapped at the gardener. The poor man nodded back in fright. They moved on until the ex-Ranger Math teacher spotted some red spots on the tree trunks. They got closer to examine it.

"Is that blood?" Kurosawa asked with apprehension.

"Yeah...," Gotou replied. "It is." He thought with satisfaction, _Gotcha now, you sonofabitch._

"Oh my God," the gardener gasped, "we should call the police."

"The police are on their way," Gotou replied. "but right now, we've got to take the situation under control. We have more then twelve hundred students and a recipe for panic."

"Um... Alright," he gulped. They followed the trail until they heard some heavy shuffling of feet at some more trees nearby. Gotou slowly turned his head and gestured to his two companions to get behind him. They both nodded once and got behind. He paced his steps carefully as he moved forward to his unseen opponent. Then he heard a cat shriek. Kurosawa and the gardener felt their blood run cold and froze in place. Gotou stopped as well. He let his ears scan the ambient noise, then moved on. He could hear the sounds of tearing flesh and crunching bone. It was very chilling. Still, he had a job to do and that meant ensuring the safety of the school population. The trees' shadows formed a dark canopy they're walking through. Gotou's eyes and ears helped him find and approach his target carefully. The closer he got, the more he felt it. He could picture it eating the corpse of the cat, unmindful of his approach but at the same time keeping alert for danger.

Stench filled the air. They kept going. A twig snapped from behind him. Gotou stopped on his tracks. He wanted to turn his head to his companions but he couldn't. He might lose sight of his kill. The 'stranger' slowly emerged from the shrubs, Gotou was remained still, squelching whatever fear he had so it would not cloud his his tactical sense. But his two companions were greeted with the horrible sight of a walking corpse, gory bits of the helpless cat were still in its mouth. The rest of it where in its bloody hands.

His two companions shook with fear at its visceral appearance. Kurosawa backed away while the gardener froze in place. The hoe in his hand trembled. The 'stranger' looked decayed and feral. Its eyes were opaque balls of gray of decaying gray. The tongue was sticking out of his mouth in a menacingly snake-like fashion. His mind was overloaded with primal emotions. As the creature approached to the direction of the sound, it only took something to make him snapped.

It moaned. And passed besides Gotou and towards the two behind him. They were absolutely terrified. The gardener's breathing gave way to louder whimpers.

"**_AARRRGHHH!_**" It growled loudly and lounged at them.

Before he could react, the thing seemed to stumble over its own feet, falling on top of the gardener, who began screaming and struggling against its grip. Both Kurosawa and Gotou reacted as quickly as they could, with Gotou forcing himself between the shambling stranger and drove his elbow into its face. It snarled viciously and let go of its grip. However, it grappled Gotou's foot and pulled him inward. He grabbed a root of a nearby tree to prevent him from dragging him through. He then kicked it in the groin with his free foot, knocking it on its back.

Kurosawa, without a second thought, dug the spade into its neck and kicked it home, severing it. The whole encounter was over in seconds.

"Did it bite you?" Gotou asked the trembling gardener. When he was too busy breathing heavily to respond, Gotou drew his pistol and aimed it.

"DID? IT? BITE YOU?" He demanded again.

"No! No, it didn't! This blood ain't mine!" The gardener refuted, still panicky, "Don't shoot me! I just... got scared... whatever the hell just happened..." He put it back in his coat. He looked at Nyamo, who was holding the spade with its bloodied blade downward. The PE teacher was just shocked. It was the first time she actually took a life - if it ever really had one. She dropped the spade in disbelief, looking at the horrible head. She turned to Gotou.

"Are you alright, Kurosawa?" He asked.

"Yeah...," she stammered, "I'm okay..." She wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her face was flushed white.

"Don't worry," He replied, "you did okay. You have your students to look after." He then got his cellphone and made called the principal, "Sir, the intruder's down. Evac is a go, I say again, evac is a go." The principal quickly put it on mute and turned to Hattore.

"Alright, let's go now." He told her. She nodded.

"Okay, Kurosawa," Gotou said to her, "let's go. You'll get over it, trust me." She nodded and they jogged back to the school building.

The gardener took a quick glance at the corpse and shuddered. He then saw the two teachers running and caught up with them, "Hey! Wait for me!"

* * *

The PA announced again, "All students and teachers, please be seated and wait for the signal." Yukari and her class sat down tensely as they waited for the alarm to go off. She was fumbling with her pen, her eyes stared at the clock. It had been just seconds after Lorenz was forced to do Monty Python's Military Fairy. Clearly, his efforts didn't go far as they didn't laugh for long. Everyone looked anxiously. They laughed a while ago and are not laughing now. He though to himself, _so much for breaking the ice_.

The clock's ticking got louder.

Louder.

And louder. The heartbeats merged with the ticking. Yukari tapped her foot nervously. It was so nerve-rackingly silent that a dropped pin can be heard as it hits the floor - and probably would cause panic in the process.

_RING!_

They fire bell rang. The PA system went on: "All students and staff, please move out it in an orderly fashion and follow the evacuation procedures, Teachers and class representatives, please keep your students in line to the gym."

Yukari then barked to Chiyo, "Alright, Chiyo-chan, you heard the PA! Get everybody's butts moving to the gym!"

"Yes, Miss Yukari," Chiyo replied with no emotion.

"Don't go emo on me, Chiyo!" The teacher blurted. The little girl snapped herself back to attention, fearing her insane teacher's bouts of hysteria.

"Yes, I will Miss Yukari!" She replied crisply. And turned to the entire class, "Everybody, please proceed to the gym." Everyone immediately stood up and got out of the classroom, jogging in close formation. Almost everyone coming out of the classrooms did. Teachers and class reps jostled their charges to move orderly while school staff direct them to the appropriate exits. Sakaki held Chiyo by the hands as they jogged. The floors of the school rumbled with life as the populace followed procedure. Outside, Gotou looked on as everyone on the ground floor went out the front on their way to the gym.

"You're doing great," Gotou said on the phone, "Keep the juniors moving and make way for the sophomores and seniors." Everyone was jogging in an orderly rank-and-file with most of them still not understanding what was going on, or why they had to evacuate in the first place. Still, that didn't mean that rumors weren't spreading. The students were noisy, many yelling over each other and cracking jokes to ease the tension, and some yelling just to yell.

Lorenz found himself easily losing track of his friends, despite the fact that the orderly mob hadn't fallen into chaos-yet. A quick glance around yielded no familiar faces, and all of the people yelling in Japanese that went so fast, so jarringly, that he couldn't keep track. It was confusing and intimidating, so he immediately began searching for another group to fall in with.

"Hey, Sakaki, right?" He asked, going for the most easily visible 'landmark.' "Do you know what's going on here? What're we doing?"

"A fire drill." She replied squarely. Truth be told, she had her doubts, but they could wait. She had to remain strong.

Gotou looked at back at the gate. _Shit,_ he thought, _they're showing up here faster than a Woodstock concert!_ He went on on phone, "Keep 'em traveling. Tell them not to look at the gate and fences."

"Roger that, Mr. Gotou," Hattore replied on the phone. He thought, _'Roger?' Quite cute_. He heard her voice on the PA again.

"All students please keep on moving to gym and all teachers and class representatives take charge..."

Ryo finally caught up with Lorenz, "Hey Lorenz, what's up?"

Lorenz replied panting, "Glad to see you. Where the hell are you?"

"You gotta listen. I saw a lot of people around the fences. They look like trouble."

"What?" He turned his head to the fence. There are people on the fences who looked liked movie extras coming to a set after an all-night pot session. But there is something quite disturbing of their appearance. Their skin looked gangrenous and their mouths gaped wide open like that lecherous Literature teacher. He stopped, "What the hell is wrong with them? Why the hell are they on the fences?"

Ryo stopped as well, "I have no idea! They just came out of the bushes like a drunk in the fog-!"

"Hey!" Shouted a teacher, "Keep moving! Don't stall the lines!" His orders startled the two. They got back to their feet. Lorenz noted an unusual sickly-sweet stench coming from the fences mixed with the scent of sakura blossoms. The very thought disturbed him. His stomach tightened as he jogged.

The teacher waved to other students who stopped or slowed down to look at the fences, "Go on! Keep on moving!"

* * *

As the four men carrying the sacks reached the the back of the school next to where the food truck is parked, they noticed that outside, the back gates was completely mobbed by the zombies - which was all that they could call them in the end, zombies. It was clear that trying to get to the vehicle would be a death wish, at best, and clean suicide at worst.

The men shrank back in fear.

"I'm calling the police." One of them breathed, reaching for his cell phone when another stopped his hand.

"Don't bother. They got here already." Another said.

"What do you..."  
One of the zombies that was banging on the gate was wearing a bloodied police uniform, the hat nearly falling off his head without him adjusting it. Terrified, the man slipped the cell phone back into his pocket.

"What the hell is going on here? It's been a matter of minutes since we saw that kid, and... how fast did it spread?"

"I don't know... I want to get out of here. C'mon, let's ditch this frickin' body bag in the bushes or something and get with the students for evacuation!"

"But... but..."

"What the hell are we gonna do?" The first one asked, "We can't stay here and advertise ourselves as choice meat cuts!" The other men quickly nodded in agreement. The zombies began to ram against the gate harder and harder.

"They look like there gonna break in," one of them nervously suggested.

"But there's a gate," argued another, "what the hell are they gonna do? Shake until it crashes?" The moans of the fiends began to get louder. He gulped, "Um, on second thought, we should put that truck in the gate just to make sure."

"Yeah, good point," some of them agreed.

"First, we gotta find the driver-," he went on as he turned to the truck. The door to the driver's seat was partially open and the driver was still there.

As they jogged towards it, one of them called out, "Hey, you there. We need some help so can we borrow that truck of yours?" No answer. They finally arrived at the door. He said again, "Excuse me, could we borrow that-"

The door quickly flung open. The driver stumbled out of his seat and fell on the ground. The stunned men backed away a few feet from it. Then the sprawling figure instantly raised its head at them, and stood up, jerking its body rigidly with the sound of cracking bones and twisting joints. He pounced on one of the men.

Gotou quickly turned his head to the direction of the bone-chilling screams. The students stopped moving and turned their heads. They noticed the the figures at the fence.

"What the hell is going on?" one of them said. Then the mutterings of the other students. They began to shudder at the figures and some of refused to move despite the exhortations of the teachers and class reps.

"Huh?" Ohyama said, "who the hell is screaming?"

"Stop talking!" Gotou yelled, "Keep walking, eyes front!"But it was too late, the students began to look around and are starting to panic. They heard the screaming from the back.

He took off at a full sprint towards the gate, readying the PPK.

He caught the very end of the engagement. The groundkeeper's friends had abandoned him at a full sprint, leaving him helpless against the zombified truck driver. Without hesitation, Gotou reached in the inside pocket of his jacket and brandishing a knife, which made quick work of both of them. He jammed the blade into the first creature's throat. It gagged violently. Then he hooked the top of his foot behind the knee and stepped down with the side of it, dropping it down. Then he brutally stomped the back of the neck. He proceeded to the next one. He gave it a right hook into the cheek, then a balled fist into the solar plexus. It hissed viciously before Gotou gave the coup de grace: he jabbed a metal pike into its eye. The man had already been bitten. He was already dead.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" A girl moaned, her high-pitched voice heightened the tension of the situation. Everyone began to mutter incoherently. They're asking questions from anyone and anybody who they think has an idea what's going on. They turned their shocked eyes to Gotou.

"What the hell did he just do?" Said another. Everyone accused him in disbelief. Some of them turned to their teachers.

"Yeah!" Tomo cheered, "Monster kill!" It seemed Tomo had no regard about whether he killed out of self-defense or murdered him. She was simply impressed by the way he took them out.

Half of the students were already too high-strung to even realize that Tomo had made the remark, and the others were absolutely appalled.

"What the HELL are you cheering for, Takino?" One boy demanded, rolling up his sleeves.

"But it was so awesome! How he... did that thing... with the z..." As Tomo looked around at the people who noticed her, who were gaping in shock, her voice trailed off.

"STOP STANDING AROUND!" Gotou roared, "KEEP MOVING! RANK AND FILE!" Some of the students reluctantly moved on.

"We can take him." The boy whispered to Ohyama, "if we find Lorenz and Kazani, we could rush him. I'd go first."

"What're you talking about?"

"Gotou. He's gone insane. He just killed a guy right before our eyes, for God's sake, and now we're following his orders?"

Ohyama replied, "He's got a gun, FYI. And, don't repeat this too loud... but did anything about that guy he killed seem a little off? And did you notice that the whole time, he could've screamed, yelled, or pleaded for help... but he didn't?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"With everything else that's gone weird today, I'm not making assumptions like that. If you want to charge him like some kind of maniac, though, be my guest."

"Hmph... might have a point, there... what was Takino saying, 'monster kill'?"

Yomi grabbed Tomo by the front of her shirt and jerked her closer. "'Monster kill?'" She seethed, teeth bared in anger, "Tomo, what we saw on the roof is probably related to this, but we CAN'T go letting everyone know something's up when the school staff have taken so much effort to hide it. That means shut your GODDAMNED mouth until you learn some prudence. Understand?"

"Let go of me already, I get th-"

Another rough shake. "UNDERSTAND?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it!"

Yomi shoved Tomo as she released her grip, to reinforce her message. Everyone turned eyes on them.

"What did you see back there?" They demanded. Their cacophony of demands now leveled at them. Some of the teachers are already demanding the students to get back in line and keep moving since the class reps couldn't help them enforce it now. Gotou knew that the beans have been spilled so he must intervene before Takino blurts whatever comes out of her mouth.

"Everyone," he began, "we have an emergency situation outside. I would advise that you all proceed to the gym immediately."

"B-but!" A student stuttered, "how about those guys you killed?"

"That's the point," he replied tersely, "for you're own safety, please proceed to the gym now. Unless you want to stay here and found out for yourself whatever it is that is happening here." The student could only stutter. Then Nyamo intervened.

"He's right. He just did it to guarantee your safety," she said, "just do as he says." He nodded and moved on.

The line went on. Some of the students snatched apprehensive looks at the two men, who had chilling bloodshot eyes and graying skin. Gotou approached a teacher and a maintenance staff member to discuss the moment right now.

"My God," Kagura said, "looks like they can't keep it a secret now."

"I know," Sakaki quietly replied. Chiyo clung to her arm strongly, who was thoroughly frightened of everything. She whimpered hesitantly. Sakaki put her hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

"It's alright, Chiyo," she said, "everything will be alright." She just shuddered.

"Score one for Mr. Gotou," Osaka airily said. Apparently, she was immune to some mild violence.

"Alright, just get everyone inside and keep the doors..." Gotou was instructing them when he heard something out of the walls.

They heard the rev of engines and screeching tires from the front. Everyone who turned their heads saw massive semi-truck towing a rectangular shipping container emerged from behind the crowd of ambling moving gray bodies. It wobbled left and right uncontrollably until it bumped into a car and flipped itself into the air. It landed violently on its back and skidded right into the gate.

"SHIT! NO!" Gotou screamed as the lumbering behemoth broke through. It plowed through it as though it was a house of cards, breaking the semi apart from its container. An unlucky maintenance staff member was slammed by a container and sent him flying into the air, screaming and hitting the school's facade in an action-movie-like manner. It stopped short of a huddling student. But the truck tumbled on its end like a can thrown down a flight of stairs, metal crushing menacingly as it stirred dust in its wake.

Screaming students got out of the way. For Lorenz, time slowed down as he faced the truck. Instinctively, he turned to Sakaki and Chiyo and told them to run. He was not sure if they heard, he could not even hear his own voice. He rushed towards them, practically kicking himself off the ground. He knocked them both to the ground, the truck flying just a few feet away above his back. He pinned them to the ground and huddled tightly as it struck the school, the behemoth crushed itself on the facade and erupting instantly into a violent sun of red and yellow. Heat awashed the trio and the explosion ringed in their ears, the noise of chaos and mayhem were muffled. His vision blurred as he saw a crowd ambling into the school gate. He could see students running around in panic. Then he found himself pushed away by Sakaki, who looked over him to see any injury. He turned his head slightly to see a worried Chiyo facing him.

"Lorenz! Thank God you're alright!" She said. "Can you stand up? We have to get in!"

He didn't respond. He was breathing heavily. He could not feel his feet. He was paralyzed with fear.

"Chiyo, stay with me!" Sakaki ordered, "Kagura, help me with him!" He found himself lifted then dragged by arms by Sakaki and Kagura. He saw his own feet. He looked around as panicking students and teachers screamed. He saw them running everywhere. Some of them near the epicenter of the blast were barely struggling to get up.

While his ears still ring, he heard echoed shouts,

"_What are they? What are they!"_

"_They're coming inside!_"

Then he heard blood-curdling screams.

He saw himself dragged along the corridors. Then moments later, his vision faded to black.

* * *

This is the second chapter of For What It's Worth. A long and difficult chapter to say the least. Say hello to my OC, Lorenz Kreutzhart. Things are gonna heat up in the next chapter.  
Additional notes: Ryo. That's the name I'm giving to the boy at Azumanga Daioh episode 1 where Yukari commandeered his bike. And for me personally, a song that should have accompanied the gate-crashing scene would be_ Call of Duty Black Ops Soundtrack - 08 Crash_. For those who want to know why I titled this chapter the Idus Martii, it fits as the premise of the show begins during the March spring and that the world of in all but open war with the 'Outbreak.'


	3. Hannibal Ante Portas

**Chapter 3:**** Hannibal Ante Portas**

Here's Chapter 3. Special thanks to Elred Bluegreen for helping me. There's a little black comedy and a backstory here. If you have any doubts about this don't worry, the HSOTD cast would appear soon.

_Hannibal before the gates_(translation)

-Attributed to Cicero

After the truck's gate crashing, the first unfortunate person to fall to the chaos was a boy who was too near the gate when it broke away. A number of those things rushed for him as he tried to get away but he lost his footing and fell on the ground. They pounced on him and wrapped around their arms on his body. He struggled and cried for help before they savagely sunk their teeth into his flesh. He let out a blood curdling scream. The students and teachers who saw it screamed horrifically as they literally tore him apart with their bare hands, chucking out limbs and entrails.

"Somebody help me!" He frantically screamed as they tore out is insides, "Oh God! Oh God! AGGH!"

His screaming was joined several feral hisses and growls and it was concluded with a terrible sound of ripping flesh and tearing bones. And blood spurting.

They screamed. The horror was too much just too much to their high-strung nerves and their collective sanity instantly collapsed. The lines broke apart and everyone ran to wherever their feet can take them.

"No!" Gotou yelled, vainly trying to keep the evacuation going, "Get to the gym! Get to the gym, goddammit!" But everyone is too overloaded with adrenaline to even pick up whisper of his plea. The hideous crowd stirred towards the direction of the noise, more specifically the closest screamer they could hear. Those that lingered too long or belatedly moved their muscles were the first to go. The 'things' grabbed them, and bite and tore them to shreds. Chaos ruled the day, the sounds of anarchy swept the entire school. Those that still had their nerves together suddenly caved in as they see minions of the crowd eat up the raw, often still living, flesh of their victims like crocodiles brawling over cattle carcasses. Pieces of skin, muscle, sinews, all covered in blood, were wrenched from the body, often with bits or large pieces of bone still attached. Most of the initial victims didn't die immediately. They were watching their on death throes in front of their faces. The sight of such scenes were absolutely hellish.

Blind panic. Running feet, screams, moans. No one knew what to think, in the wake of the breach, hardly anyone cared. When the things began to enter through the gate, rational thought was superseded by instinct. Fight or flight, with most choosing flight. To the math teacher, it resembled the chaos that greeted him during Operation Anaconda, when he and his Ranger squad were ambushed by Taliban RPGs. The critical differences is that they were never prepared for something like this.

Gotou was used to the feeling. He let his instinct control him, after a decade or two of faithful service in the US Army Rangers had retrained those instincts, reprogramming him as a person. Defend, secure, protect.

He was the only one who knew what he was facing, what he needed to do. He brought his handgun to eye level and, with cool, calculating nerve, pulled the trigger. It was just like he'd remembered it... the PPK's light, feathery trigger pull and its rough, but controllable recoil. Even running backwards, he squeezed out shot after precise shot, remembering his experience with the things in the past. Aim for the head, aim for the head...

* * *

"Tango down!" One of the Rangers yelled, as the gunfire along the street fell silent, an insurgent clutching his RPK in a death grip dropped out the window, kicking up dust as he hit the sand. The squad of Rangers crept forward, around the wall, staying low, eyes wide open, scanning the buildings for threats.

"Are we clear, Specialist?" SFC Gotou asked quietly.

"No, sir. Three tangos fled into the building." the Specialist gestured towards the building that they had been taking fire from. "Looks like we've found the place, sir. The entrance to the cave system should be in the basement."

"Roger that. Radio those Papa Mike Charlies*, tell 'em we've found the target building." Gotou sighed. "Just between you and me, these Omicron guys are a joke. They came along bringing full COIN support, mechanized units, and a battalion of infantry. And all they've been doing is moving in behind us after we've cleared the way."

"HQ gets what HQ wants, sir." Without another aside word, the Specialist brought the radio up to his ear. "Oscar, this is Jackknife. The road is clear, we have found the target building. You are clear to proceed, over."

"Roger that, Jackknife," came the reply, "we're coming in."

Several men dressed in desert camouflage appeared from behind them. They are wearing balaclavas and night-vision goggles; they carried assault weapons which are most certainly not stamped with MADE IN USA.

"Um, sir, why the hell are they all better equipped than us?"

"I don't know. And I don't care. They scrape these guys out of the periphery of society-a bunch of skater punks and kids who think they're big shot heroes or worse, grown men trying to make a quick buck." Gotou seemed unusually resentful of the mercenaries, but like a good soldier, he kept his orders, despite wanting to shoot every one of them. "All that fancy gear amounts to nothing when the guy using it's a total head case. If I remember correctly, they'll actually be trying to keep pace this time."

Indeed, the mercenaries had begun to stack up by nearly every entry point of the building, windows, doors, and a few even helped each other up onto the second-story balcony and prepared to move in from there. Hashwell, Gotou's pal since the Gulf, Mogadishu and Kosovo noted something about them.

"Gotou, some of these guys come from Africa, Eastern Europe and the Balkans. How does anyone hire them for this kind of work and sleep at night?"

"That's the point, Hashy. These PMCs or merc companies don't care what kind of guys are signing up for this shit. For all I know, the UN and Human Rights guys want their tanned hides in the courtroom for every crime they made and these corporations are giving 'em a new lease on life so they can kill more - and get paid for it."

"Hua that," Corporal Ibrahim agreed. "These psycho fuckers most likely have an arrest warrant sticking to their asses." He also made a bitter mental note that some of them used to serve the United States as soldiers. Now they're freelancers working on a contract basis, doing questionable work and besmirching their honor in the process.

The rest of the infantry and vehicles began fortifying the area around the building, lugging piles of sandbags and PK machine guns with bipods out of their trucks. Many of those men had submachine guns, machine pistols, or shotguns, instead of full-length combat rifles or carbines. They were preparing for something... suspiciously, Gotou radioed HQ.

"Endzone 6, this is Jackknife. What EXACTLY are we supposed to be looking for down here?" He asked.

"You're looking for the defector, codename 'Dr. Thrax'. He's the head of the insurgents' archaeological and biochemical weapons programs."

"Archaeological weapons? What, are they throwing pharaoh tombs at us? Trying to curse us with ancient spirits? Are you kidding me?"

"That's a negative, SFC. We don't know what we're supposed to be looking for, but if Thrax is to be believed, they've got a highly potent weapon out of this archaeological program. Stay frosty out there."

"Roger that." Gotou led his Rangers to the front door, hanging the breaching charge on the doorknob and stepping back. "All units, on my go." He instructed, pushing the button.

* * *

BOOM!

He was back to the present. A shot caught one of 'them' squarely in the eye, bursting it like a meat bubble. It dropped to its back on ground. He turned his eyes around. The 'things' are fanning out everywhere in search of prey. Everyone who he's sure is still alive have either dispersed or are on the ground, dead -for the moment- or dying horribly.

Gotou took down two or three more before a rush of instinctive adrenaline told him to turn around. One of the zombies had caught up with him, arms outstretched, running into him and lunging with its mouth to bite him. Its eyes, were lacking pupils, but the veins in them were strikingly crimson.

Fighting the things hand-to-hand up close was never,_ ever_ a good idea, unless you were insanely skilled or insanely lucky. For Gotou, it was definitely option one, even as the surprise attacker grappled with him and pushed him onto the grass. He forced the thing's mouth away from him by swinging his elbow into its neck, producing a loud crack as its neck was broken. He tossed the now-paralyzed hostile to the side, unsheathing his combat knife and finished it off.

Briskly, he grabbed for the nearest person to him and jerked him back. "You!" He barked, turning him around. It was Kazani. He was clearly shaken, but he looked like he was holding together.

"Yes, sir?" He asked hesitantly, trying to grapple with the new reality around him.

"Calm down! Can you use a gun?"

Kazani's eyes widened, but he nodded quickly and answered in the affirmative. Without hesitation, Gotou turned out his pockets, revealing three spare .380 ACP magazines for his Walther, placing them and the gun they went to in the boy's hands.

"Aim for the head, you hear me? THE HEAD!" Gotou reiterated. He ran off quickly, Kazani followed suit. When he'd stopped off at his car to retrieve the Walther, he had additionally pocketed his old flame, which he produced now. An old M1911A1 government model, .45 caliber, and the first model he'd ever fired. He brought the heavier handgun up to eye level, double-tapping another of the zombies right in the forehead. All seven rounds barreled into the foreheads of its targets, the lead pieces drilling into the soft insides of their kills before either exiting or lodging in.

"Get ANYONE YOU CAN together! The place is a mess, and everyone panicking is going to get people killed!" He bellowed, "Can I trust you with that?"

"Yes, sir!" Kazani pocketed the extra magazines before bringing the gun up himself. He then set himself off to carry out Gotou's directive. He went to the first group of stragglers he saw, two boys and three girls huddled together in fright. He remembered that everyone should go to the gym.

"Hey, you there!" He shouted as he knelt beside them.

"What is it?" On of the boys asked.

"What are you doing here? Go to the gym!"

"Are you out of your mind?" One of the girls screamed, "They're everywhere!" Just as she said that, several loud claps of the .45 rang around the school. And more of those things are rushing through the gateway.

"Shit!" He muttered and stood up. He leveled the gun's barrel to another 'thing' barreling in towards them. He pulled the trigger to tight and four rounds left the barrel before he dropped the pocket pistol. All four bullets struck at the head. They impacted the eyes, the nose, and the cheek, creating a geyser of blood and guts from behind. He was stunned by what he just did, shooting something down instantly. His breathing went faster and his heart pounded so loudly that he couldn't hear. Then one of students shook him out of his trance.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" The second boy shouted.

He was silent for a while. Then he finally said as he picked up the gun, "Go to the gym! It's the safest place there!" He pulled them back on their feet and got them running. He shouted further, waving them off, "Go! Go! Go!" As they moved off, he went to more groups of stragglers, relatively safe from the mayhem.

* * *

Nyamo shouted herself hoarse. It worked as they obeyed her, not knowing what else to do. They rushed for the gym. She shouted, "Open the gym! Let us in!"

Makoto Koga, who was watching the hell from the windows, shouted to the others below, "It's Miss Kurosawa's class! Open the door!"

They and everyone else alive came rushing in. Some of the students and teachers inside stopped the students to check for any injuries. Gotou's class rep made sure that those who have some sort of injury are kept apart from rest of the group inside huddling in and around the stage for a minute or before being allowed to join them. Some of them protested, even struggled, but the procedure was down effectively. As soon as her students are in, Kurosawa doubled back out. Koga shouted, "Miss Kurosawa, what are you doing?"

"There's still a lot of students out there!" She turned around, "I can't just leave them there!" Before Koga could stop her, she ran off, retrieving another spade.

Yukari's screaming to the top of her lungs as she angrily tried to keep her petrified class moving. Unfortunately, they broke apart as the screams and potshot gunfire from Gotou's pistol filled the air with many of them running around, some to the gym and others back to the school building.

"Oh God!" Tomo screamed, "It's the zombie apocalypse!"

"Look at these things!" Yomi shouted, "They're eating other people!" The people next to them were absolutely horrified, not knowing what to do until a girl was brutally bitten by one of 'them' on the arms and neck. Her ear-piercing shrieks jolted the group into action.

"We gotta find cover, c'mon!" Yomi screamed. Both of them broke from the group and started running in a random direction. They weren't paying attention. Quickly, Yomi began to outpace Tomo, who began screaming.

"HEY!" She shrieked, "Don't leave me behind! YOMI!"

Yomi spun around, giving Tomo a chance to catch up, panting heavily from exertion and panic. "That was scary, Yomi..." she coughed. As it turned out, however, Yomi hadn't stopped for Tomo.

"Where's Chiyo-chan?" She asked. "My God... we can't leave her behind." As she turned around, another 'thing' tried to bite her. She screamed and narrowly dodged the bite, the jaws snapping at thin air. She ran faster than before.

"Chiyo," Sakaki told her quickly, "find a safe place to hide, go!"

"Yes, Miss Sakaki," the prodigy nodded vigorously. She turned to her right and saw Osaka cringing a bit. She was muttering something as she looked at horrors sweeping the campus.

"Mommy, daddy," Osaka chanted, "I could use a blanket right now. I'm scared of zombies. They're coming out of the grave. Chiyo-chan, please fly with your pigtails. Please take me up to sky. Please save me, Chiyo-chan..."

Chiyo tugged Osaka's sleeve vigorously, waking her up from her trance. Osaka let loose a loud cry, jumping to her feet.

"Osaka, it's me!" Chiyo shouted.

"Chiyo!" Osaka cried with relief, "you're alive!"

"You're still okay, Osaka! We have to get out of her!" She grabbed her hand and ran off, poor Osaka barely kicking her feet. "WE have to get to the gym-!"

A zombie accosted in front of them and growled menacingly, its face a disgusting abomination.

The two girls let out shrieks as they doubled back to the school.

Tomo entered the school building with other students fleeing the carnage. Her lungs were begging for air by the time she reached the flight of stairs. She muttered, "God... Yomi just ditched me like that... I can't believe it."

All around her, students were finding objects to barricade the entrance to the stairwell, frantically searching for their friends amongst the survivors, and wailing pitifully. Tomo, however, was too preoccupied with finding Yomi, and presuming that she'd gone ahead into the building, moved up the stairwell as soon as she caught her breath.

"Hey, Yomi! Get over here, Yomi!" She yelled, before being stopped by two boys and a girl.

"Takino!" One of them said, a boy, clearly trying to keep his voice calm. "We need some help with this table, could you give us a hand?"

Tomo looked past his shoulder, at the table, which was laying upside-down on the floor just at the top of the stairs. "What about it?"

"The legs are made of metal. If we could break them off, they might be useful as weapons."

"Break them off? Are you kidding, you need a screwdriver for those!" Tomo scolded, much to their surprise. "I've taken one of those apart before. Go check the supply closet, now where's Yomi?"

"Mizuhara? Did you see her?" The boy asked his friend, who shook his head. The girl, however, piped in.

"She went by while you two were trying to pull the table apart." She pointed out.

"What?" Tomo blurted. "Where?"

The girl pointed to the stairs. Tomo ran off, leaving them to build the barricade on their own.

While Yukari lost control of her students, she saw a boy holding a tiny pistol coming to and fro, shooting down zombies; coming with groups of students to the gym; then doubling back to pick up some more. She immediately recognized him as Kazani, the boy who had sidelocks, just like Nyamo. He and and his friend Ryo compared him to the PE teacher, in which Ryo received a smack on the head for that. God, she was pissed at remembering that. She called out, "Hey! Kazani! Get your ass over here!"

The boy went over to her, not minding the zombies everywhere. "Yes, Miss Yukari!"

"Where did you get that gun?"

"Gotou, ma'am," he replied.

Yukari seemed to jump up in excitement, "I knew he was hiding something! He really did!" She cackled in a way that unnerved him. "Now ask him if he has anymore-!" Kazani squeezed off a few rounds on the zombies behind her. She blurted at him, "Hey! Watch were you shooting!"

"Sorry, Miss Yukari!" He apologized as he reloaded. He added, "Miss Yukari, you'd better get to somewhere safe."

"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively, "now give me that gun since you're not supposed to run around with that thing."

"I can't Yukari. I've got to find more survivors. See any?"

"Yeah, I think I saw some students get inside the school-"

"Thank, Miss Yukari!" He ran off, making his hasty thanks and exit.

"Hey! Don't leave me!" She growled angrily, giving chase; narrowly and unknowingly dodging a biting zombie.

After leading another batch of students to the gym, Nyamo spied Yukari getting inside the school building. Raising her spade she acquired earlier, she had just knocked out a few more of those things on her path and is now ready to do battle again with them. She sighed with frustration, knowing that she'll have to bail out her immature friend once again. This time, in the middle of this surrealistic nightmare. She rushed from the gym's closing door. She gripped her spade harder, having that uneasy gut feeling when she faced those things. Still, she had to save as many people as she could.

* * *

Sakaki and Kagura lagged behind the others as they carried Lorenz on their shoulders, still unconscious from shock. Kagura commented as some more students ran pass them. "Look at them run, Sakaki..." She panted a bit, "We can't bring Lorenz to the top floor. We have to lay him down."

"You're right," she said. The two girls turned to the nearest room, fortunately, the clinic. They set him down on the gurney. Putting him down, Kagura picked up a stretcher from the cabinet. "Jeez, they've got a stretcher here?" She was bemused to see one in the school, perhaps the principal readied it for worst-case scenarios. "Here, Sakaki," she said, "we can carry him upstairs."

"Okay, place it on our shoulders so we can move faster." Sakaki suggested. Kagura nodded while she strapped Lornez to the stretcher, and took the front, lifting it up to shoulder level while Sakaki took the rear. They moved out of the clinic out to the hallway.

As they did, Lorenz bounced slightly around the stretcher, the straps keeping him tightly in place. Then some claps and cracks from outside rang out, punctuated by screams and noise. He let out a tiny groan...

"Lorenz, you're awake," Kagura said, "Are you alright, there?"

"Herr Gotou!" The boy responded in his distinct, heavy accent, before his heady wake-up caused him to forget where he was and revert completely to his native language. "Was zum Teufel ist denn hier los?"*

"Gotou's not with us," she replied.

"What?" His eyes popped wide open.

"He's still alive, I mean, sorry."

"That wasn't right to scare him," Sakaki said quietly.

"Sorry," Kagura replied.

He blew a sigh of relief. For a minute he thought he was dead... or worse. He looked at his body to see himself strapped to a stretcher. He asked them, "We're we going?"

"Any place safe," Kagura panted as they journeyed up the steps.

Lorenz groaned slightly. "You don't sound so sure of that, Frau Kagura."

"One of the language arts rooms upstairs was adjoined with another a few years ago, I heard. One of the doors was walled over, meaning we'll have more space and still only one entrance to defend if something goes wrong." Sakaki outlined, stopping for a breather as she reached the top of the stairs. She heard above the screams and the crackling of fire from the wrecked truck, she heard what sounded like... gunfire. There were loud cracks followed by spits that sounded like tiny fire crackers.

"That's a good idea, Sakaki... but it sounds like a mess out there. If we hole up... will anyone be coming for us?"

"We can't. It'd be too much of a risk. Once we get to the room, we'll need to figure out where Chiyo is, too."

"I can handle that. You keep an eye on... eh... Fritz?"

Lorenz merely shook his head. It had already been made clear to him that Kagura meant well, but wasn't exactly a masterful language student. Sakaki nodded in agreement with Kagura's plan.

They arrived at the room. They set the stretcher down and unstrapped the boy. He stood up from and moved his muscles a bit. They opened the door to the language arts room. It was locked. Apparently, the teacher who has the key isn't around or there are no lessons today.

"Man, talk about our lucky day," Kagura muttered with annoyance. "Okay, stand back, everybody, I'm gonna break down the door."

"Uh... you don't need to do that..." Lorenz said to her, twiddling his fingers.

"Why not? We can't just wait somebody to come along and give us the key," She pointed out. "Besides, with zombies running around, breaking school property's the least of our problems."

"Excuse me," Sakaki said, "I think you're doing it the wrong way."

"Huh?" Lorenz and Kagura exclaimed in unison. Sakaki stepped forward and turned the knob. The door opened.

"Wait, the door wasn't locked?" Kagura asked, a bit surprised.

"No," Sakaki replied quietly, "you didn't turn the knob properly." They all walked in. The language arts room is used by the school for music and arts lessons. In it are chairs and bandstands used in the former. At one corner there is the closet where all the musical equipment are kept. The room was indeed large, twice as spacious as two classrooms put together, courtesy of the merging of what was once two separate rooms. They looked around for anything useful. As they did, Lorenz wandered to the window. The scene outside was total insanity. Everything that came out of George Romero's demented genius has happened here, of all places in the world. The panic, the screams, and the visceral slaughter... and the dead rising to their feet was so appalling that he put his hand on his mouth. He saw a screeching girl engulfed and ripped apart by the 'crowd' in horrible fashion, blood splattering on the ground.

"_Mein Gott_," he gasped in fright, trembling at even such very thought. "I can't believe it." He looked beyond the walls of the school to see rising columns of black smoke, vehicles jammed in the streets, and distant silhouettes of people - he could not tell from the distance if they are alright or as worse as everything else. Behind him Sakaki and Kagura were moving furniture when rushing footsteps from the hallways startled them. They swung their heads and grabbed the bandstands for weapons.

Two girls came in panting heavily. They sighed with relief. They were Chihiro and Kaorin.

"God, you guys," Kagura breathed, "we almost had you for a second." They put down there weapons. The two girls slowly got in.

"I'm sorry, you guys," Chihiro apologized as she slowly set her friend down on the floor. Kaorin looked terribly flushed. "We were got separated from everyone else when these zombies came along."

"That's alright," Sakaki replied. "It's a good thing that you two are safe."

"Check for wounds," Lorenz suggested as he seated Chihiro near the door. Kagura and Sakaki examined Kaorin.

"She's clean," Kagura confirmed. She then turned to Sakaki, "Alright, at least some of us are are here. I'll go look for Chiyo and the others."

"Thank you, Kagura," Sakaki replied. Kagura wan out of the door. The room was silent again. Sakaki turned around and saw Lorenz turn back to the window, almost as if an odd mixture of fear fascination is compelling him to look on at the hell outside, almost as if to study it. Hopefully, to her, to find a way out of it. Kaorin sat with her head resting on her knees. Chihiro looked weary and had that blank look in her face, a telltale sign of someone trying find mental solace from the horrors outside. She read about something called the thousand-yard stare in a NEWSWEEK article about a Marine from Iraq called the Marlboro Marine. Seeing a classmate in that state was quite startling to her. She approached her and asked, "Chihiro, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Miss Sakaki..." Chihiro replied with little emotion.

"That's good, Chihiro. Just calm down, everything will be okay." In her mind, however, everything is not okay! The incident in lunchtime had just blossomed into full-blown pandemonium. They saw people attack them and eat them, performing a grisly sideshow of organ extraction... it was just too much to bear for any of them to bear. The screams of agony and terror from those who fell where still in her ears. But worst part was... 'their'... victims... rose up from the ground... they too had the same obscene ravenous appetite for flesh as the people who bit them... the very thought made her stomach churn.

"Everything's fine," she went on, "me and Kaorin are alright. We just had a little fall, that's all mommy." He began to shiver uneasily. "Please, somebody, please save us..." Sakaki was still, not knowing what to do. She then said, "Chihiro, please calm down."

She didn't. "I want to go home and watch TV, make dinner..." She began to rant incomprehensibly, shaking a little. Sakaki backed away from her. She began to chuckle disturbingly.

"This is all just some kind of trick, isn't it? Some kind of prank, candid camera? They're just recording it to put it on TV and make us all laugh at ourselves.. that has to be it, there's no other way..." She continued, "I mean, really! Zombies, is that the best they could come up with? Hahaha... funny, funny, but I figured it all out! I figured it out..."

"That's not it, Chihiro! This is real, but it's also why we need you to stay clear-headed." Sakaki struggled to keep her own voice level, out of worry. "Come on, snap out of it. We all need you to be thinking straight."

"Ha... you're in on it, too, Sakaki?" Chihiro responded, oblivious, "I wouldn't have believed it if Kaorin had been the one to talk, but you, too? You had me going for a second, there. Do you have the time?"

"It's... 1:17."

"OK... well, I've got to get going home now... dog needs feeding, dad can hardly cook a meal to save his life... haha... I'll see you tomorrow..." Chihiro made a motion to stand up, but was trembling so much that as soon as she tried, she fell over. Sakaki caught her mid-air. She let out a piercing scream. Sakaki held Chihiro upright and shook her a bit.

"Get a hold of yourself, Chihiro!" She said. The girl stood down. Sakaki added, "Alright, just breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out..."

Chihiro complied and breathed up. "Its... is-is real, isn't it?" She murmured softly. Sakaki nodded, keeping an arm around the girl as she took everything in silently.

"Panicking isn't going to help any of us." She reiterated, rubbing Chihiro's shoulder slightly. "As bad as things get, that only gives us more reasons we need to think and act clearly."

"Right... but... what _can_ we do? We don't even know what's going on, Sakaki."

"Then we need to find out. And we need to trust each other."

"OK... just... give me a minute. I'm... I think I'll be fine..." It was clear that Chihiro was making an extreme effort to keep herself calm, to bring herself back. Sakaki merely nodded, but kept the arm on her shoulder to remind her.

Kaorin, sitting near the wall, looked up and saw Sakaki wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulders. Sakaki's composed demeanor comforted her. To Kaorin, she let an aura of serenity in the face of the disaster, made her seem to glow in the midst. She found it awkward to look at her while she consoled her friend. How Sakaki was calm in all of this she will never know but no doubt her admiration for her has heightened. She was going to say something but no words came out of her mouth. The only thing she could was just stand up and take a seat on one of the chairs.

* * *

Kagura went from room to room. She was looking for Chiyo and Osaka since she last saw them got in when they dragged Lorenz inside the school. She went past students going the other way. _Boy_, she thought, _this mayhem's just got real_. One of them called out her, "Hey! You're going the wrong way!"

"I've got to find my friends!" She replied. "You see Chiyo and Osaka anywhere?"

The student replied, "Yeah, I think they're so them in the clinic."

"Alright, thanks." Kagura rush forward down the stairs. Running until she caught sight of the clinic, she swung around and knocked on the door. She shouted, "Hello! Anyone there?"

"Miss Kagura, is that you?" A high-pitched voice called out. One thing came into her mind, _Chiyo_.

"Chiyo-chan," she exclaimed excitedly. "Thank God. Don't worry, everyone's at the language and arts room."

"Are you sure you're not a zombie?" Another voice chimed in, sounding like the purr of a kitten. Kagura sweatdropped, _Osaka_.

"I'm no zombie," she replied, "I'm still me."

"I'm not sure. We oughta do a few tests. First, what's Miss Yukari's favorite snack?"

"Yakitori," Kagura deadpanned. She was seething through her teeth, enormously outraged about how Osaka could still afford to play idiotic games at time like this.

"That's just easy. Now what's her-"

"Kagura!" Yomi cried as she appeared.

"No, that's wrong." Osaka said. "You should've heard the..."

Kagura grit her teeth, wound up, and kicked the door just below the knob. It flew open with a loud crash, knocking Osaka back to the ground. "There's your frickin' password!" She yelled, "You all right, Chiyo-chan?"

Chiyo crouched out from a low cabinet that she could fit. "We ran as soon as we could and hid in here. There was no way we could get to the gym... everyone was running everywhere, and we got turned around or something."

"Okay, we should just hole up in the language arts room. Will be safe there until help arrives."

Osaka stood up again, oblivious to the fact that she was knocked down to the floor, and purred, "Will it arrive on time? I don't think they'll send help."

"Shut up!" Kagura snapped, "I don't need that from you!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Yomi poked her head through the door.

"Nothing." Kagura replied. "They're both safe. It's just Osaka and her friggin' mind games that pissed me off."

"They're not mind games." Osaka defended, "We need to be safe, y'know..."

"From what I've seen, those things can't talk." Kagura reprimanded dryly. "We don't have time for this, we need to get moving!"

"But..." Yomi began to protest the decision, before clamming up.

"What's wrong?" Kagura asked. "You got a better plan?"

"No. It's that Tomo's still out there. She'll have no idea where to look for us, if she's alive, even. I'll stay back and find her. You just get those two up there, and, just in case, the password is swordfish."

"It's ALWAYS swordfish... fine, fine, just get there as soon as you can!"

Then Tomo appeared at the end of the hall. "Yomi!" She shouted. "Were you trying to ditch me back there?" She was panting from exertion, hands balled tightly into fists. She probably didn't notice that she'd picked up a few bloodstains on her shirt, as well.

"Tomo! I lost track of you, you went in the completely wrong direction!" Irately, Yomi crossed her arms. "I was about to go looking for you!"

"Damn right!" Tomo looked past Yomi. "Kagura, Chiyo, Osaka. Where's Sakaki, Kaorin, and Chihiro? Anyone seen them?"

Kagura was the one to respond to this, somewhat impatiently."Sakaki should be helping the foreign exchange student up at the safe room, and we need to get up there, too. I don't know about any of the others."

"Well let's haul our butts to this safe room until this blows over." Tomo suggested

"You mean when we get help." Yomi corrected, her arms still crossed.

"Can't argue with that." Kagura agreed. She then told them to follow her lead.

Kazani went inside the school with the Walther in hand. He noticed a group of students setting up a barricade using furniture and other heavy objects. He shouted, "Hey, you guys! What the hell are you doing?"

"What's it look to you, genius!" One of them replied. "We're staying the hell in here! We can't get to the gym. We're trapped by those things here."

"Alright, alright," he hastily placated them, "I know. Okay, how many are you in here?"

"We have no idea," another said.

"I think were about twenty or twenty-eight." A girl replied.

"That's good." He sighed. "Just hole up in here until help arrives, alright?" He was about to get back when one student called out to him.

"Where'd you get that gun?" He asked. Kazani looked down at the Walther in his hand.

"Oh this? I got from Gotou, long story," he explained. "I gotta get back and pick up more-"

A shout interrupted him. He looked to his right and saw Yukari's angry face.

"There you are!" She screeched. "Leaving me to be zombie chow out there while you act like Clint Eastwood!"

"I'-I- I'm so s-s-so-sorry, Miss Yukari!" He stammered in fright, "I didn't mean to-!"

"'I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to'," she repeated mockingly, "That's your excuse? Don't you dare leave me out there and pull that kind of crap on me! Now give me the gun!"

"Miss Yukari... I don't I can just give the gun..." He replied awkwardly.

"Why not?" She barked, then snatched the gun from his hand. Triumphant, she flashed high up in the air like a sword. "Now time to kick some zombie ass!" She grinned as she pointed the gun at a faraway zombie. It clicked. Her eyebrows raised, she pulled the slide just like in the movies. Another click. "What the hell?" She raised her voice in bewilderment.

Kazani spoke up, "Uh... I was meaning to tell you that it's empty."

"Huh?" She just realized. Then she asked, "Okay, got any extra ammo?"

He emptied his pockets. None at all.

"What!" She screamed in horror. Yukari then tossed the gun back to him, which he caught in mid-air. She climbed up the barricade and ran through the hallways, "Keep your stupid gun! I'm getting my ass outta here!" Kazani and everyone else who watched the entire comedy unfold sweadropped in bewilderment. Then Nyamo appeared on the steps, traling the bloodied spade.

"Where's Miss Tanizaki? What's going on?"

Everyone explained the situation to her. He also got an explanation from Kazani about how he got the gun. "Yukari..." She sighed with frustration as her friend's irrational recklessness got them up in their necks in this whole mess. She ordered Kazani to go with her while telling the rest of them to hold fast. Furthermore, she told them to inspect for wounds and isolate any student with visible injuries.

* * *

Yomi, Tomo, Kagura, Chiyo, Osaka are reunited with Sakaki, Kaorin and Lorenz inside the room. Her eyes widened to see Chiyo thankfully alive and well.

"Miss Sakaki!" Chiyo yelled in joy.

"Chiyo!" An equally overjoyed Sakaki embraced her tightly. "You're alright, I'm so happy to see you!"

"Everything's okay." She reassured her. "Me and Osaka did what you told us."

"I'm glad, Chiyo-chan. I really am." Sakaki murmured.

"Help me move some tables against the door, guys." Kagura instructed, "Sakaki, how's the exchange kid doing?"

"I'm still alive, thanks for the thought." Lorenz smiled wryly. His shirt had been removed, and there was a large cut crusted with dried blood on his shoulder.

"We had to hold him down while we sprayed it with antiseptic, but it doesn't look like he took more than some cuts and bruises from the explosion." Kaorin said. "I'm... a little more worried about Chihiro."

"Huh? What's wrong with Chihiro?" Chiyo asked.

Sakaki's mouth was set in a firm line. "Don't worry about it, Chiyo-chan. We're glad you're back."

Just as they did, they heard running from the hallway. They looked to see Yukari running down the hallway like crazy.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit, the zombies are coming! The zombies are coming!" She screamed, pounding on the door. "Lemme in! lemme in!"

"What's the password?" Osaka asked, before Kagura pushed her aside and opened the door.

"Miss Yukari, in here!" Kagura called out. Yukari jumped and slammed the door. Meanwhile, Kazani and Nyamo finally caught up reached the stairs.

"Where is she?" She panted. Then she found a room and absently entered the door with the boy following her. To her surprise, she saw everyone has holed up inside the room.

"Oh my God," she sighed in joy and relief, "you're all safe."

"Miss Kurosawa," Chiyo chimed, "you're here."

"Yeah, I got here to pick up Yukari..." She paused to see Yukari lying down on the floor.

"Ohh, we're trapped, we're trapped, we're trapped," she moaned pathetically. "We just got out of a frying and into a meat grinder."

"Stow it, Yukari," Nyamo scolded, "you nearly got us into trouble now."

"Trouble?" Yukari snapped and jumped to her feet, "they're zombies everywhere! It's not easy for me to do that! And since all my students went chicken, I don't think there's much for me to do."

"You should have controlled your students! What you did was irresponsible! Fortunately, most of them had made it to the gym."

"Hey! Get off your high horse here!-!"

"Hey, stop." Chiyo intervened, "we can't just argue right now. We need to do something."

The two teachers were silent for a while. Nyamo finally spoke, "You're right, Chiyo. We can't get anywhere if we talk like that." As everyone talked, Kagura took a look out the window, her eyes focused on the sky.

* * *

The school is now full of 'them'. They've overran the entire campus field, some of the less-than-fortunate students have rose up to join their ranks, all of them sporting the disgusting gray hue and the same horrible appearance as the 'crowd's'. He was down to his last four clips. Gotou's eyes darted swept from place to place to see that they were everywhere. His situation, and that of many other students still outside, is hopeless. It's only a matter of time before he was finished and so is everyone else. He muttered to himself, hoping that the student reps and principal kept the gym secured. He clicked the magazine release and the .45 dropped it to the ground. He loaded in a fresh clip and locked the gun back into action. He gritted his teeth. He was going to make his last last stand. He was gonna make each round count, saving the last for himself. And he will fight all the way with his bare hands, taking as many of these infected bastards with him as he could possibly could.

He took a deep breath and lined the barrel to one of the 'dead' students. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the pistol's clap sounded more like a boom to him. Followed the ring of the recoiling slide. The bullet crashed into the forehead like meteor and erupting into a bloody geyser. The 'thing's' head snapped back as a bigger geyser exploded from behind. It dropped on its back on the dirt and the encounter was over when he heard the spent cartridge's metallic bouncing. The shot and kill gave him a moment of clarity. The recoil gave a jolt and gave him addition resolve to fight harder. He looked around and went to group of students trying to fight back with what looked like brooms. He sprinted towards them.

"Hey! You alright!" He shouted to them.

One of those students made a thrust with the broomstick, the head of which had broken off leaving a splintery, jagged point. The tip went into the neck of the zombie, who resembled a man Gotou had met on the street a day or so ago... he forced the thought out of his head.

"What is this?" The boy screamed, pupils narrowing in panic. "This is so fucked up, like some kind of movie! I'm dreaming, man, I'm dreaming, I've got to wake up..."

Gotou was quite familiar with the phenomenon, that you wake up from your dream when you die, and so he swung forward to grab the boy and restrain him.

"Get moving back!" He instructed the others, before turning to the boy. "This is no dream! Don't think like that, you hear me?"

"It's not! It's not! There's no way this can be..."

Gritting his teeth, Gotou began walking back with the boy in tow, firing his pistol in his left hand at the zombies that were approaching. He grabbed him by the collar brought him close to his face.

"You listen!" He began, "This shit's real as it gets! You better cowboy the fuck up and get your friends to safety! Understand?"

"Yes, sir," the boy nodded in fright.

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes, sir!" He shouted in reply.

"Good!" He turned to the other students. "You stay with him and help each other as much as you could, don't try to be heroes, understand! Now get moving!" He fired another round at an incoming 'thing'. "I'll cover you!" They ran as he ordered. Gotou covered their approach with his pistol, gunning down zombies that got too close. They disappeared into the school entrance. _Thank God_, he thought with relief. He began to engage more of 'them' with his pistol, making each round count. Each round made its mark and the slide back with its distinctive ding. It felt like he was back at the battlefields of Somalia and Afghanistan. There, outnumbered by the enemy, be it Mohamed Farah Aidid's militia in Mogadishu or the Taliban and Al-Qeada in Shah-i-kot Valley, the Rangers always fought them despite being smaller in size, just as they did in D-Day, at the beaches in Omaha and at the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, where they weathered against a powerful German counterattack. The difference is that they survived and won in the end. Here, on the other hand, there is no such end in sight, at least not for him.

Raising his gun, he shot carefully so as not to burn out all his ammo. Every minute turned into an hour; a second into a minute and everything seemed to slow down. The gunfire seemed to draw the horde's attention to him as they began to move into his direction. In his mind, he screamed angrily at them, _Wanna eat me, you dead whores? An entree of lead, some knife steel and my dead ass are all you're gonna fucking get!_

They closed in around him and he fired. He now had only two clips left. He emptied the .45 and loaded in another clip. He fired again. As he slowly picked of his kills, he heard the sound of hovering...

Just barely over the gunfire and panic, two JGSDF helicopters overflew the high school grounds, sleek choppers with rotary guns on their noses, raking the oncoming horde with cannon fire. Several of the students began to cheer as they swung back around like eagles, laying down more fire.

"Cobras!" One of them yelled. _There was always at least one military nut in every school_, Gotou grinned.

"KEEP MOVING!" He yelled, "They can't shoot the ones close by!"

Following the Cobras, eight more choppers came in, four UH-60J Black Hawks and four CH-47 Chinooks, all of which Gotou was very familiar with. The Black Hawks began to slow over the schoolyard, the sideline .50 caliber machine guns raining down on the nearby zombies, tearing many of them to pieces. The Blackhawks were brimming with SDF soldiers.

The odds seemed to be evened at last, as the two Cobras made their third pass. They obliterated them with powerful 20mm shells that brutally reduced them to flying bloody bits of flesh, the rounds piercing through from one to even four closely-packed ranks before exploding and tearing apart its kills, spraying shrapnel and body bits, sending them the throng into a chaotic rabble. Their lines cracked and they scattered. Ropes were thrown out of the sides of Black Hawks and many soldiers rappelled down, theirs boots touching the ground with precision. Moving out in file, they began firing at the crowd's scattered minions on the head, throwing them back. Other soldiers began gathering students scattered outside and rest began searching the buildings.

One soldier approached Gotou, "Sir!" He shouted over the loud droning of the rotors, "Are you Eugene Gotou?"

"Yes!" He replied. Then he rapidly turned around and downed two more zombies. He regarded the soldier again, "What is it, soldier?"

"We need you to get in the chopper right now! The evacuation of the school is underway!"

"That's great! But I'd like to stay until I'm the last man on the ground. _How'd you know my name?"_

"The principal, sir!" The soldier's answer took him by surprise. _Did the principal tell these guys about their situation?_ He decided to shelve that question for later. At the background, the groans, screams and hisses of the crowd mingled with gunfire and the cheering of many students and the screams of others. He went on, "Where's the gym?"

"It's over to you're right but some of the others are inside the school building!" He shouted over the loud drone of the chopper. He then added, "May I have your sidearm?"

"What?" The soldier was puzzled.

"I need your sidearm." He explained clearly, "I'm still in this fight."

"No can do, sir!" He replied, "I'm not suppose to relinquish my piece to anyone."

_You're a good grunt_, Gotou thought, admiring his dedication to his duty.

"How many are in the school building?" The soldier asked.

"I don't know, everyone's split up everywhere!"

"We've got a team of JGSDF Rangers in one of those Chinooks! We'll get them moving in as soon as they touch the ground!"

"All right!" He and the soldier moved up the others began the evacuation.

The sound of hovering and gunfire took the attention of the people in the gym. A boy climbed up ahead of the others to look outside where the noise came from. He beamed with joy. "Hey, guys!" He shouted, "the army's here!" The entire the gym reverberated with wild cheering fist pumping. The teachers cheered but had to subdue their wards to keep them from going out of control. The sound of automatic fire broke from outside. The boy, looking out, shouted as the choppers mow down more of the crowd.,"That's right! Waste those bastards!"

There was a loud knock on the door. Then a loud voice, "This is the GSDF. We're here to evacuate you." The cheering grew even louder. The door broke open and the soldiers stepped in.

"Okay, everyone!" One of them shouted, "Please proceed outside in an orderly fashion." But everyone rushed out in a less-than-orderly fashion to the four large Chinooks sitting in the schoolyard, pushing some of the soldiers aside. The faculty and staff , however, kept order, keeping them from stampeding. The Chinooks opened their large cargo-bay doors, bringing students aboard.

"Okay," the crew chief of one of the choppers barked, "let's bring 'em in." A sea of humanity rushed inside the chopper quickly, crowding it beyond its official passenger capacity.

"Hey, what the hell's going on!" The pilot remarked when he saw the entire cargo area packed with students.

"Lot's a students, sir!" Replied the co-pilot while a second crew chief struggled to keep order inside.

* * *

Looking out the window, Kagura shouted in joy, "Hey guys, the army's here!"

"You sure!" Tomo couldn't believe it.

"Look out the window!" She opened the window and pointed to the helicopters and dismounting soldiers. Everyone peered out through the window.

"It's about time the cavalry had showed up." Yomi commented.

"What? They're here!" Yukari cried in joy, "I'm taking first class!"

Just as she was about to get out, Nyamo stood in the doorway, "Whoa there, settle down, Yukari. Are you leaving your students behind?" She pointed to the rear. Yukari looked behind at her students including Lorenz who, for some dumb reason, grinned and raised his hand with two fingers forming a V-sign.

"What's your point, Nyamo? I have you." She smiled mischievously at her friend.

"I'm not babysitting your students, Yukari, they're your responsibility!" Nyamo blurted.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," she in her dismissive tone, "I've got to share my premium accommodations with my friends and students." Her students sweatdropped. She then ordered, "Alright, you little brats. Time to move your butts." They all got up and were ready to leave. Then a loud explosion rocked the school.

"Take cover!" Nyamo shouted and everyone fell flat to the floor.

Moments earlier, Gotou was helping the soldiers round up people into the Chinooks while others cover the evac.

"This is Ranbou Six-T20, over," came the squall of the radio from one of the Cobra gunships. "Be advised, you have a large mass of hostiles converging on your position. We have expended all our ordnance so we can't provide CAS*, we need to rearm and refuel. Ranbou Six-Two, out." The commanding officer was informed over the radio on this new development as the Cobras hovered away.

He went to Gotou and the principal, "Sorry, sirs, but we have to speed up the evac. The gunships have to go back and rearm there's a large mass of these 'things' heading towards us."

"Alright, sir, we'll do what we can." The principal said as a soldier retrieved a group of students from the school. As the other choppers began lifting off, two choppers remained behind, a Black Hawk and Chinook. Gotou gestured and hollered to more evacuees to get in.

"This is the last ride out of here," he yelled over the roaring of the rotors. "Check for anyone in the school. I think I saw some students and teachers inside."

"Done it, already," replied the commander as he gestured to a squad getting in as they cleared the barricades.

Moments earlier...

The deserted canteen was a horrible mess. Overturned tables and chairs that were supposed to be used as makeshift barricades piled in one place. The pantries were looted of food in preparation for a siege that turned out would never come. Kitchen utensils from knives to pots were gathered in another place. Inside the counter hid a student. His nerves were shaky and he believe it. As he saw everything, it changed what he knew about what a riot was. The boy, a delinquent, was no stranger to violence, often starting fights and generally causing trouble, both in and out of school. But it made all his fistfights and bouts of intimidation look like child's play. He sank down on his back as he contemplated his options. He could either join the evacuation outside and hope for rescue or he could stay here and wait for those things to eat him. Wait? He realized he can weather this out. All he had to do is the rearrange the barricade and help himself to the food strewn around while 'they' move on to some place else. It sounded like a brilliant plan. He felt spent though. He fished out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. They were prohibited in school but what does he care about it anyway, rules are meant to broken. The taste of the cigarettes would also get rid of that God-awful smell from coming from the kitchen. Little did he knew that smell seeped out of the rubber hoses and pipes ruptured during the ensuing panic. He put on a stick and flicked the lighter...

Everyone outside jumped to their feet when the canteen erupted into a red-orange ball of fire bursting through the windows. Followed by a second explosion, that ripped through the building. Above, one of the Black Hawks was hit with some large flying pieces of tail rotor of the aircraft began to spout smoke and wobble. The helicopter drifted away from the impact for a few seconds, before a loud burst and a puff of fire erupted from the rudder, and it began spinning and falling away, into the school.

It impacted, the frame buckling with a sick crunch on the building, the wheels giving way under the force, and then it began to roll, rotors thrashing the dirt with a hellish, deafening sound, before tearing apart and flying in unpredictable directions and angles, before the remaining stubs of rotor blades on the aircraft had been slowed down too much to do any more damage and scraped to a stop along the ground.

"Jesus! What the hell was that!" One of the soldiers screamed when the building buckled violently. The squad dropped to their knees, rifles ready.

"I don't know!" Answered another, "We gotta get outta here!"

"Don't panic!" Shouted the team leader. "We still have to-!" An explosion from the hallway knocked down their backs. The TL received a chunk of steel on his shoulders. His second-in-command ordered everyone out while he and another soldier carried the TL on their shoulders.

The soldiers rushed out of the building with with with their lives barely intact. The explosion grew louder."No!" Gotou screamed, flames roared higher. Instinctively, he bolted away to rescue whoever is still inside. But several arms grabbed him by the arms and shoulders.

"Sir!" One soldier shouted, "It's dangerous!"Gotou tried to budge but he was restrained.

"I gotta save them! I gotta save them!" He shouted as he was lifted off his feet and carried aboard a Black Hawk. The nearby Chinook quickly took off, followed by the smaller helicopter.

"I'm sorry, sir!" Another said. "We can't do anything.

"No! There's still people inside! Goddammit! They're still inside!" Gotou struggled wildly as the other soldiers pinned him down against the wall of Black Hawk to keep him from falling. He desperately pleaded to come back, wanting to save whoever is still inside.

The pleas fell on deaf ears. The soldiers kept him against the wall, shouting, trying to hold him down. The balance of the helicopter shifted as it began to lift off and turn around, just as Gotou had expected and known from experience it would.

While the Japanese soldiers were still gaining their footing, Gotou lunged forward, shoving some of them aside. One dropped out the door of the Black Hawk, only hanging on by the side of the door, which was still wide open.

"Take us back!" Gotou demanded, fiery rage in his eyes. He had unconsciously disarmed one of the JGSDF soldiers, and was leveling the barrel at the unprepared troopers with a snarl twisted into his lips. "Or I'll shoot all of you! I'm _not_ leaving anyone behind! That's not how the Rangers do their damn job!"

"OK, OK, you win, just..." The crew chief began, pulling up his radio, "Ichikawa, stop the helicopter." He said carefully, "Now, let's talk about this..."  
The helicopter had been bringing itself up at that point, and it was now level with the cafeteria windows, Gotou noticed, in its rush to reach top speed in the fastest manner possible.

"Here's our talk. You let me off on the roof of that building, and then run on home like the cowards you are!" He snapped.

But a strong hand grabbed him and and the last thing he saw was a streak of lightning rocketing towards his face. The sergeant dragged Gotou and the clinging soldier back in. He ordered his men to tie him and shouted to the pilot, "Take us home!" The pilot nodded and lifted higher. He then turned to an unconscious Gotou and said to him, "I'm sorry and and I regret it a lot but I can't jeopardize the lives of my men and all the students. You should have been better than that." He then sat down as the chopper soared into the air. Below, the hideous crowd limped through the gates and engulfed the school like ants bringing down a larger, helpless insect down to its knees.

* * *

*Papa Mike Charlie- Private Military Contractor  
*Was zum Teufel ist denn hier los?- What the hell is going on here?  
*CAS- Close Air Support  
The chapter's title is Latin phrase that refers to wasting time while the enemy is already here. Said when Hannibal assembled his forces outside Rome. Fun fact: the Chinook helicopter's passenger capacity is 33 to 55 people but in Vietnam one Chinook was able to bring 147 refugees and their possessions in one airlift.


	4. Break Out

**Chapter 4: Break Out  
**

Hello, everyone. Here's another chapter of For What It's Worth. I was quite shocked about the disasters that hit Japan. Even more so that they took place during springtime, the same premise for Highschool of the Dead. Coincidence? Yeah, to say the least. It's a shame that it should happen but we don't choose where we stay when disaster strikes so we have to go about as best we could. In this case, just be ready for the zombie invasion or a generic breakdown of law-and-order that results from anything. This is for **Elred Bluegreen** and **Rpgingmaster**. Here's chapter 4. Thanks to Solarius Scorch for inspiring me to search for the right quote.

_"You can help me. Whatever comes out of these gates, we've got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together we survive."_ - Maximus, _Gladiator_(2000)

* * *

Everyone staggered to get up after the explosion. Their ears ring with the explosion that rocked the school. As they regained their senses, Yukari looked out the window to see helicopters racing by.

"What the hell?" Yukari shrieked. "They're leaving us!" She opened the window, frantically waving her hands. "Hey! We're over here!" The choppers flew by, seemingly ignoring her. Everyone else peered through the window to see it for themselves.

"God..." Kagura said despondently, "we missed the last bus out."

"That sucks!" Tomo blurted. "We should have went to the choppers by now if it wasn't for Yomi!"

"Hey!" Yomi yelled, "You think I'll just leave you behind! I was gonna go after you!"

"Yeah, right, fatty!" Tomo replied sarcastically. Then the two growled loudly like animals preparing to fight a shouting match.

Nyamo shouted at them, "Knock it off! The last thing we need is a fight between the two of you so stow it."

Yomi and Tomo stood down, backing away a little as the PE teacher sat down sighing, putting a hand on her face in frustration. Frustration over their situation. She down lifted her head up and look around. Pretty much everyone she knew is here with her. Yukari is at the window continuing her rants. Chihiro sobbed quietly, evidently having a hard time coping with the insanity but at least it gave her emotional release. Sakaki soothed her shoulders and clasped her hands, comforting the girl.

"I don't know if we can make it... We're surrounded by... _those_ 'things' outside..." Chihiro wept, trying hard not to sink into depression.

"Chihiro, don't think such things," Sakaki said, "we can make it out. I know we will." Her sobbing mellowed a little. The bigger girl patted her shoulders reassuringly and embraced her. Nyamo turned her eyes on everyone else. Everyone was silent, not wanting to talk a bit, one fact had just dawned to them: they have been left behind.

Lorenz looked apprehensively outside at the hell below. His face looked stunned at the destruction wrought by the aircraft and the zombies that are coming to roost all over the school. The horde ambled all around the crashed portion of the school as though a dragon had been slain in its own fire. "There's fire in the canteen." Although he got no reply, he got the feeling that everyone agreed, yet it's not a pressing concern right now.

Then Nyamo answered, "There's a localized fire system. That'll keep the flames from spreading from there." He didn't face her but slowly nodded, mentally relieved to know that his worry of fire is allayed.

Sakaki could hear the moans from outside. She felt very scared. Them something in her gut raced to her mind. She stood up ramrod straight and turned to her friends. "The stairs! We have to block the stairs!"

Perplexed, Yomi asked, "What? What do you mean!"

"We have to block the stairs," Sakaki explained in a hurry as she opened the door. "We need to get some chairs and tables to keep them from going up. Get to the second floor!"

"Hey, wait for me, Sakaki!" Kagura joined in, both girls racing out the room. Then everyone else followed. Lorenz was snapped out of thought from the grisly spectacle outside by the rushing footsteps. He had no idea why they rushed but he had to follow nonetheless. They split up into two groups. Lorenz, Kagura , Kaorin, Kazani and Sakaki went to one end of the hallway while the remainder went to the other end. Chiyo and Osaka lagged behind the others so they fell behind. Then hurriedly descended down until they reached the second floor. There they began to ransack the nearest room for furniture to block the 'throng'.

"Yukari!" Nyamo shouted to Yukari, "help me with these chairs!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Yukari replied as she huffed with a chair. "Like I wanna be zombie chow!"

Then there was a knock on the door. Everyone turned around like a cat on hot water, nearly screaming. Then heard few voiced from it.

"Hello, is anyone there not dead asked the voice?" It asked.

The teachers quickly opened the door. Out of it fell Ryo and and Ohyama , who both tumbled down on the floor.

"Hello, Miss Yukari, Miss Kurosawa," Ryo chuckled nervously. "What a surprise."

"What were you two doing there?" Nyamo asked rapidly.

"We got lost during the riot so we had to hide inside the broom closet," Ohyama answered for him.

"Well, you better help us with the furniture," Yukari barked at both them. "Zombies are coming up this way."

"Zombies?" The two boys asked in unison, feeling uneasy. Is that what all this trouble's about?

"Quit whining and move your asses, boys!" She yelled at them. The boys quickly responded, bringing their legs to work as they hurriedly moved chairs to the stairs and arranged them quickly to form a barrier the zombies could not break through, piecing the furniture together like a jigsaw puzzle.

At the other side the two boys and three girls are setting up their blockade, hefting chairs and locking them in place. Sakaki and Kagura carried chairs while Lorenz and Kazani quickly arranged the furniture so they lock together, making a strong barrier to meet the expected mob below.

"More tables! These chairs might not hold together!" Kagura barked. Sakaki nodded wordlessly and broke for another classroom down the hall.

"Oh man! OOHH man! We've got to find some weapons or something!" Kazani yelled frantically, forcing another chair into place with his shoulder. Footsteps from downstairs. The mob was approaching. They had to act faster.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Lorenz shot back, looking over the stack of furniture at the base of the stairs.

"I'll do it, Miss Sakaki!" Koarin chanted as she pulled a heavy chair, "I'll do anything for you!" The chair screeched and she puffed, putting all her strength to dragging the seat to the barricade- all for Miss Sakaki. One might wonder why she would do it for her taller classmate unless they learned of her secret desire.

The mob of zombies was within view, and his first reaction was to freeze.

With some frantic last minute checks, Nyamo and her group came running along from the hallway. "Finally!" Yukari exclaimed, "the stairs at that end is all boarded up!" She panted.

"Yukari!" Nyamo panted, "Chiyo and Osaka are lagging behind!"

Yukari looked back to see of all the students, Chiyo and Osaka were falling behind, Chiyo picked up the Osakan up her feet.

"There's gotta be someone we can call somewhere..." Osaka murmured. She and Chiyo were still catching up, both red-faced and out of breath, and Osaka had stumbled several times trying to dial numbers on her cell phone while running. None of the emergency numbers were working, and she was still trying to get her family's number from the phone book...

"Osaka, this isn't the time!" Chiyo shrieked, "Put the phone away!"

"But we need to call someone."

The two kept running, even as they passed Yukari, who just stopped, and approached the barricade, just as Kazani finished positioning the chair, just as Osaka's phone received a call and started to ring, and just as she stumbled again, losing her grip on the cell.

Everyone seemed to freeze as the phone sailed through the air, its bright, chirping ringtone taking precedence over all other sounds. With a clatter, it bounced off the stairs and went between and underneath the horde of undead... causing them all to stop. And turn around, focusing on the ringing sound. It drove them wild, made them seemingly forget about the group of students completely. The 'things' were lunging and clawing at an imaginary person, which they thought was the source of the sound, to no avail.

"Oh God, they're here-" Yukari nearly screamed if it wasn't Nyamo who grabbed heard and covered her mouth.

"Shhh!" She whispered sharply, "don't scream." She calmed her down and backed her away from from the pile of furniture that is the hairline between them and the zombies. She then gestured the two girls to move back quietly. Chiyo and Osaka nervously nodded. They turned away slowly from barricade as the zombies turned on each other.

The other group turned their heads to the noise. Sakaki whispered quickly, "Chiyo!"

"What is it, Miss Sakaki?" Chiyo asked.

Sakaki gestured at the horde down the stairs, which wrestle with each other as well. "Do you think they saw us or heard us?"

"I don't know..."

"We were making a lot of noise throwing tables and chairs around. And here, they definitely would've seen us, but they went for that cell phone anyway."

"Are you sure we should assume that is the case? It's a little bit dangerous..."

Sakaki shook her head. "We need to find out."

"Why don't we check the bags of everyone and see what's useful?" Kazani suggested. Everyone turned to him and gave him odd looks. "What?" he protested his innocence, "It's not like we're stealing or anything. Like anyone's gonna claim their stuff here when this zombie stuff is over."

"That seemed like a good idea," Lorenz agreed, "although I don't know how exactly is it going to help us."

"I don't know," he replied immediately.

Lorenz bowed his head and sighed in frustration. "Great idea... Looting bags without any idea what to use."

"There, there, my German exchange student," Yukari patted Lorenz's blond head reassuringly- which seemed far from reassuring to Lorenz. "Kazani doesn't know what to think anyway so don't join him if you want to live two seconds longer." Everyone's faces went pasty white blank.

"That's very comforting, Yukari." Nyamo blew a puff of air in exasperation. "But how are we gonna get out?"

Chiyo said to everyone, "Hey, you guys. We have to keep it down. We're a bit too noisy. Look at them." Everyone fell silent again as they turned their heads back to the horde again. By then, the cellphone was dead and they seemed to be 'calm' and move about listlessly like drift wood, giving out low moans and an occasional hiss.

"Does anyone have something noisy?" Chiyo asked.

"Oh," Tomo replied as she dug into her pockets. "I've got this. What do you want with it, Chiyo-chan?" It was a screaming monkey slingshot.

"Give me that," Yomi whispered sharply, snatching it from Tomo's hand.

"That's mine-"

"Quiet!" Yomi hated that monkey since Tomo would play tricks on her with it. Now that monkey would be useful for something. She slipped her fingers in its arms, pulled back its hind legs and stood up. She aimed over the heads of several of the walking dead. Then she released it. The toy monkey shrieked loudly through the air, wheezing over the heads of the 'things' by a mere inch. 'They' all growled loudly and as soon as the monkey clapped into the wall and plummeted to the floor, they pounced on it and wrestled all over the ground. The gang was both awed and frightened by the results of Yomi's little test.

The meganneko turned to Chiyo and whispered to her, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She nodded, realizing an observation that she made but couldn't quite realize it. Yomi then turned to everyone else, "Let's move away from this barricade. I have a plan."

Quickly picking up Yomi's suggestion, Nyamo ordered, "Okay, let's get to the faculty quietly. No noise as much as possible."

"That was my idea idea," Yukari pouted.

"Keep your mouth shut, Yukari," Kurosawa snapped softly. "We don't have time for that."

"Alright already, chill."

Kurosawa then turned to everyone and whispered, "Let's go." Everyone nodded uneasily.

* * *

They made their way silently to the faculty room, keeping their footsteps subdued. It seemed to take an century to get their through their tension-filled trek to the faculty room. Closing the door gently and locking it, everyone was safe inside the room. They all sat down in the vacant chairs. The faculty room didn't look disorderly as they expected, given the madness that has gripped the school. The chairs and tables were in their usual place, some hastily aligned in their place. On top of the tables paperwork has been arrange in varying degrees of order, often from well-spruced to somewhat untidy. On the table where most of the teachers ate laid half-finished lunches, all of them looking as though as they would come back to them. Kurosawa, Tanizaki and some of the girls sat around the table.

"Thank God there's none of those things here," Kagura muttered.

"They did a good job of clearing people out of the school." Lorenz added, "Now, though, it's up to us to keep them from coming back in in this shape." He reached for an item of food- an unopened bottle of tea, and tried to take a drink. It was only then that he noticed just how shaky he was -he spilled tea all over the front of his shirt just trying to tip back the bottle. Nyamo set the spade beside the door.

Yomi didn't notice. She began going through some of the bags that were sitting around the room, looking for... something. "I need something that makes sound, guys." She said gruffly, "Not a cell phone. We don't know when those will come in handy. Something disposa-"

"UWAAA! UWA!" Something screamed. Yomi, who was already on edge, jumped back in shock. Everyone else leaped to their feet and began looking around.

"What was that?" Kagura demanded, "Who was that?"

"Is someone being attacked? Is someone else in here?" Chiyo whimpered.

"Oh, I know." Osaka shuffled over to the backpack Yomi had been searching. Seconds later, she produced the maker of the noise - another small monkey toy with slingshot arms.

"That thing again?" The meganneko's mouth went wide open, seeing another one of the obnoxious things.

"That thing could get quite handy," Osaka added.

"I'll take that!" Kagura snapped, snatching the toy from Osaka's hand and pocketed it, this time without the screeching sound. "Let's keep this till we need it." Osaka bobbed her head slowly in reply.

"We need to find something to bash their heads open," Kazani said rapidly as he rummaged a corner of the room for a weapon.

Nyamo, somehow retaining her cool, said aloud, "Calm down, Kazani. We need to plan things up before we get a move on."

"But don't you see, Miss Kurosawa? That barricade won't hold them back for long once they figure out we're here!" He was starting to freak out. His eyes dilated and his hands trembled. He was shaky. He added, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die-" His ranting already scared Chiyo, who was clinging to Sakaki for protection.

"Pipe down, Kazani!" Yomi ordered him, "Those things will come here if you don't shut up!" But Kazani wouldn't shut up. He just stammered unintelligibly, his mind overloaded with fear over their would-be inevitable demise. Everyone just watched him crack up as he panting rapidly, not knowing what to do.

As Kazani hyperventilated he heard a voice call to him. "Ryo, please calm down." He turned around and saw Sakaki. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder and stroked it. He fell silent

"Miss Sakaki...?" He asked in low voice, sounding rather uncertain.

"Please calm down," she said again. "We can make it but we need you to calm down. It won't help if you lose control of yourself like that. We could make it but only if we don't panic. It's gonna be alright. Just please calm down..."

He wasn't exactly listening but her touch and her calm voice got his attention. Looking at her made her seem angelic and peaceful, a contrast to his current state. He sank into her arms, Sakaki grabbed him and took him to a nearby seat. She placed the shaky boy on the chair, moving him like a limped puppet in need of care.

She looked at the boy, his eyes were weary, dull and lifeless, watching an imaginary object from a far-off distance. His mouth was slack open like a fish that just gave up the ghost. Time made a stop for a while, which only resumed pace when he spoke his first few words. He said in a low voice, "I wanna go home... I... don't... wanna die..." His face sank into his hands and he began to sob. He choked, "I don't wanna- I don't wanna- Oh- God-" She embraced him and he buried his head on her shoulders.

Yukari's face soured into something of annoyance. Her arms crossed, she said, "What a crybaby."

"Yukari," Nyamo scolded. Yukari was about to say something back when she so the look on Nyamo's eyes that seem to say to her, _shut up for once_. The English teacher kept mum.

Lorenz noted about Yukari's childish indifference and Sakaki's comforting posture towards the boy. Yukari seemed to have no idea about how people other than herself react to this madness, especially after being able to survive the first thirty minutes and get to place to hide. This is the same that happened to soldiers in the battlefield, especially fresh ones sent to the most violent and intense parts. If they managed to survive at the end of the day or the action, their reactions vary. Some cry or go increasingly agitated, then become prone to fits of violence, but they almost always start, and most of the time end or sometimes is the situation the entire time, with the so-called thousand-yard stare, blank eyes that looked to something beyond the horizon, soldiers succumb to the shock of trauma of the first day's combat by subconsciously separating themselves from it. While this has been common in many wars and other stressful situations, none have more significance than in the Vietnam War, where American soldiers are subject to combat stress almost everyday on active duty, even on non-combat situations such as patrols or clearing enemy hiding places, where the tension is so thick when you don't know if it's safe to take another step, where one mishap can mean death or grave injury to yourself and your friends. For civilians such as themselves, Lorenz thought, such stress is even more crushing and complex.

The room was silent except for his sobs and almost everyone slumped into a nearby seat. The sight of Kazani crying told everyone else in the room about what is in store for them if they have to stay alive. For one thing, they may not see their parents again for some time or forever. The unknown horrors that lay before them if their not careful and that the world they live in is no longer the safe and secure one they knew. They could only expect uncertainty and of course death, the worst of which is where their souls die but their bodies continue to live, to join the ranks of... _Untoten..._, he thought. There's no other word to describe them for the moment. Not even a day had passed and everything changed dramatically. Kazani breaking down was a depressing, sobering experience. Chiyo gripped Osaka's wrist. Tomo looked impassive.

After a while, Nyamo came forward and approached him. "Kazani... Kazani..."

He lifted his head a little and looked at her. His eyes were red from sobbing. He spoke haltingly, "Y-yes, M-Miss Kurosawa..."

"It's me..." she replied calmly. "Just it take it easy. We're gonna get of here. Let's just take it easy. It's gonna be okay."

He then said, "Miss Kurosawa... I don't know if I could make it..." he sniffed, "I'm scared-"

"There's nothing wrong with being scared," she assured him. "We all have that..."

He grimaced and pursed his lips, he closed his a bit. "I-I... I don't wanna let anyone down..." He looked back imploringly at her, his eyes full of fear.

"It's gonna be alright... Let's get you seated..." She turned to Sakaki, "Sakaki, let's help to a seat." The tall girl nodded in agreement. They both helped him back to the chair. Then Nyamo was about to turn back to her seat when Kazani called out softly, "Ma'am?"

She turned around, "Yeah?"

"Thank you, Miss Kurosawa... I'm okay, I think I'm okay..." He wipe his eyes with his arms.

"You're alright?"

"I think I can..." he paused and licked his lip. "I think I'm okay."

"Alright, just sit tight and we'll get out of here in no time," Nyamo replied. She returned to her seat and sighed. It was a few minutes later that she stood up and went to the faculty's washbasin, which is in a room with the space of a large closet. She stared back at her reflection, her eyes full of fear and confusion. And regret, during her way to link up with the Yukari and other students, she had killed some of the things by bashing their heads with the spade, there were specks of blood that flew from their bodies on her face. She trembled at her face, and at the fact she ended the lives of some of these strangers like the one she decapitated at noon. She sighed heavily and thought, _if only Gotou was here_. He's not. He's now with everyone else in those helicopters.

She washed her hands and face, then looked at herself at the mirror again. But she wasn't seeing her reflection for a while as she was lost in thought. She was very thankful that everyone was safe but they're now trapped in the school with a slender chance of escape. She realized that she'll have to break all of them out and she doesn't know if she could. She splashed some water on her face again looked at the mirror. She saw her eyes again but they seem to have changed. They became steady, focused. Steely with determination. She felt calm and ready._ I _will_ get them out!_

She left the head and turned to the window, the light of sun shining through, splashing her figure its rays. By then, the atmosphere of the room has changed. Some of them didn't know what it is but they could feel it. It was just the start of it. She then turned to all of them, "Alright. Is everybody here?"

Everyone replied, some wearily and others with hesitancy and Yomi was thankful since Tomo didn't give a reply with misplaced enthusiasm, which be already maddening on her part. But then Yukari sang, "Here~." That nearly jumped everyone to their feet and they all sweat dropped, exasperating from her antics again.

Ignoring that, Kurosawa stood in the middle of the room, surveying everyone.

"Well, at least everyone is present and accounted for," Lorenz observed as he drank a bottle of mineral water.

"I don't know if that's gonna help," Yomi sighed. "We're in here that's for sure."

"Well, those barricades we made could hold back those things for a while, hehe," Ryo said.

"Right," Yomi said wryly, "the key word is 'a while'. You think they'll just sit back singing Kumbaya, waiting for us to be dinner?"

Ryo gulped. "Now that you mentioned it, no?"

"In any case," Sakaki quietly interjected, "we can't stay here forever."

"But I still can't believe it?" Kaorin shuddered, "why does it have to be... these icky 'things'? I thought they're only in the movies."

"Well, they're real as they get," Kagura replied, "we should get used to the reality by now."

"Why don't we call the police?" Chiyo suggested.

"That's a good question," Yomi replied glumly to Chiyo. "But I don't think we'll get to them in time. Perhaps the entire city is like this by now, maybe all of Japan."

"Speaking of the city," Tomo interjected, "maybe the entire world."

"And why is that?" Yomi replied.

"Because it's the zombie apocalypse."

Yomi snapped, "This isn't Resident Evil, Tomo."

Then they heard the TV turned on the itself. They swung their heads and saw Osaka brandishing a remote. Presented on the screen is a news program that normally airs during late in the afternoon.

"The outbreak IS now a full-scale pandemic," announced one newscaster, "the Diet has ordered all troops to secure all critical facilities while police are called in to hold the line to keep..."

"Change the channel, Osaka," Nyamo said to her. Osaka pressed the button and their now watching another news program. What they heard turned their blood cold and confirmed their worst fears. The PE teacher muttered in dismay, "Dear God in heaven..." Sakaki's eyes widened in horror as she raised her hand in front of her mouth in shock.

"- we have word that the devastation has spread throughout the entirety of Chiba Prefecture-" Another channel was changed.

"-the city of Hitachi has sustained heavy losses as medical facilities struggle with the influx of victims-" Channel changed yet again.

"-the Chinese consul of Osaka was besieged by thousands of people, who believed that this the beginning of a..."

"This is insane," Nyamo noted.

"-It is feared that the casualties are in the thousands-" The channel changed again. It was the BBC News network.

An African anchorwoman said, "Today in London the Parliament has declared martial law and strict measures have been taken by both police and military authorities, the Prime Minister has ordered all security forces to take whatever measures necessary to control the epidemic, but critics contend that it would give the armed forces and police a license for 'bestial, draconian behavior'. Also, in the chaos, immigrant communities are being evacuated from neighborhoods as reports of racial violence have spiked up today-"

"The immigrants are being blamed for the outbreak," Lorenz observed.

"Sucks to be them," Yukari replied offhandedly.

It wasn't a new thing during such times but it sent chills down his bone when he recalled from his history lessons the _Kristallnacht_, the Night of the Broken Glass, when Germany's Jews were attacked by SA Stormtroopers in retaliation for the shooting of a German diplomat by Herschel Grynszpan to protest the harsh treatment of his people. Such hysteria against minorities, whether they are orchestrated or spontaneous, have a special kind of evil. Such things start with a malicious rumor such as Jews drink the blood of Christian children during Passover, which is completely false as both the Bible and Torah prohibit such monstrous behavior but people believed it anyway to justify their own equally monstrous treatment to minorities, such rumors have transmutated to others such as bomb-making Muslims or thieving Gypsies, and people who needed a scapegoat for their problems because it is convenient to blame them for having more than the majority or for being the source of losing jobs or criminality. That chilled him even more as his relatives on his mother's side are in danger of such kinds of violence and that the neo-Nazi wolves are, by now, praising the day had come to destroy Jews and other subhumans responsible for social ills once and for all.

Moreover, it revealed a hideous aspect of mankind. When the complex support systems that civilization depends on crashes around all them, people suddenly found themselves in a situation where they must fight for scarce resources. Mankind would almost immediately regress into territorial carnivores, trying to eke out an existence in a chaotic world where survival of the fittest becomes the mindset of devolving societies, where higher thinking is thrown out the window in favor of baser impulses.

They changed the channel, it was BOX News. The anchorman read the news, "- Just in world news, the Duma declared the city of Moscow 'lost' as they are evacuated to an undisclosed location somewhere east. Russian armed forces are ordered to enforce evacuation measures and enforce the quarantine of affected areas through scorched earth policy; there has been rumors of a mutiny at a military base in the Urals but at the moment, Russian officials refuse to comment-"

"Look's like it's all over the world..." Yomi noted glumly.

"But everything was okay when we got in this morning," Chiyo noted.

"Ha," Yukari said dismissively, "like hell. I bet this outbreak happened three days ago."

"What do you mean?" the little redhead asked curiously.

"Hasn't anyone see those movies with aliens and zombies?" the teacher pointed out, "every time hell breaks loose, the government tries to control the situation, which is usually their mess, by covering it up which includes killing witnesses, all the while doing badly to stop the zombies and aliens. In the end, everything spins out of control and it is us, the _lowly_ proletariat, who has to to suffer in the end by some idiot scientist's experiments." She turned eyes to Chiyo and smiled happily. "Except you, Miss Mihama. With your bourgeoisie parents and above-average IQ, I'm sure help is on the way" - then her smiled turned evil - "oh wait, you're in the public school system, looks like there's no hope for you." Yukari cackled maniacally. Chiyo sweat dropped, not knowing if Yukari's ranting is morbidly hilarious or downright mean.

"Yukari," Nyamo scolded her again, "we're not running a sitcom here."

"I'm just stating a fact," the English teacher replied defensively.

"Well, can it," she replied. She then turned to everyone in the room, "Alright, we need think of an escaped plan." She turned to Yomi. "We now know that these things react only to sound and they bite people to infect them. So we have to be careful about moving around. Okay, anybody have ideas?"

"Yeah, we could get some weapons for starters, maybe tear up some legs from the chairs and tables," Kagura suggested.

"That's good but how are we gonna cut the legs off?" Osaka said.

"Oh yeah," Kagura acknowledged the fact.

"And there's a lot of _them_ and a few of us," Yomi interjected, "we can't hold them out indefinitely but we can't plow our way fast enough to get away."

Tomo looked out the window and saw the crowd of things scattered around the area. There's some cars belonging to some of the faculty. She then said, "Hey, maybe we could take a car out of here."

"That's right!" Yukari shouted with joy, "We could have Nyamo here to wheel us out."

"My car can't fit everyone," Nyamo pointed out. "And we can't make frequent round trips for everybody."

"Why don't we draw rock, paper-"

"That's not gonna work that," Chiyo snapped worriedly. "I'm... not good with... rock, paper, scissors." The little girl shuddered visibly.

"Oh yeah," Yomi said, "I don't think drawing rock, paper, scissors would be a good idea for Chiyo. She's still thinking about the Yukari-mobile."

"How about the delivery van?" Sakaki asked as she looked at the van that delivered food to the canteen. Unlike some of the cars, it sat like a solitary bull in the middle of the parking lot, seemingly ignored by the crowd. Everyone went to the window to take a look.

"Thanks for the idea, Sakaki." Nyamo patted her encouragingly on the back. "Now with that, we can get out of here."

"Hate to beak everyone's hopes but that still leaves us with the problem of dealing with those things," Yomi reminded them, "and not to mention we need to have our goals straightened out."

"You're right," Yukari agreed. "Why don't we get to the bar and stay there till this all blows over?"

"Yukari," Nyamo scolded her again.

"What? I'm just kidding," Yukari chuckled nervously. "Maybe we could stay at Chiyo-chan's mansion till this all blows over." Everyone in the room suddenly realized that Chiyo-chan had one and thought it was a great idea - except Lorenz, who was watching the news the entire time, focused on a German-language channel.

He had just learned that Germany had been gripped with chaos, the government has mobilized all available resources to combat the plauge and at the same time, are very hard-pressed to maintain law and order. Already there was rioting in the major cities. Also more disturbing, was an exclusive: a Munich-based neo-Nazi group had just released a manifesto, calling for a second Nationalist Socialist revolution against the 'government of the Jews, Turks, and socialists', to declare war on Berlin and to preserve the Aryan race from genocide by subhuman dogs responsible for the outbreak. That confirmed his worst fears. The image of those skinheads; with their leather jackets, swastika armbands, military pants, and hobnailed jackboots, looked formidable. He was terrified with their shouts of _Seig Heil_, _Heil Hitler_, their arms raised in the Nazi salute, singing _Deutschland uber Alles_ and the _Horst Wessel Lied_. They sent horrible images of fire and glass, of pronouncements of hatred towards so-called subhumans, of beating, shootings and other depravities. He pushed those thoughts aside from his mind.

And when he heard about the mansion suggestion, he decided he must speak up. That doesn't sound like a good idea to him.

He turned away from the TV. "Excuse me, _mein fruende_, but I don't think holing up in a mansion is such a good idea." Everyone turned heads to him questioningly.

"What?" Yukari whined, "what makes you say that? The only safe place you've ever been is your apartment. Chiyo's mansion, which you can't afford anyway, has big walls, an automatic gate and more space than said apartment~."

Unpeturbed by Yukari's infantile replies, he went on, "That's not it. We're still surrounded by those things. It's like what happened back at World War I, the British imposed a naval blockade on my country that choked our sea routes of communication and supply. We have a hard time supplying ourselves then and near the war's end, people were in the streets lining up for food and other scarce necessities. As long as we're surrounded by them, our contact with the outside world is tenuous at best. And by the way, we need to know if our parents are alright. I live alone with my mother."

"What, excess baggage-" Yukari whined again but was cut off by Nyamo.

"He's right," she pointed out, "we can't stay in Chiyo's mansion. It's too dangerous. And we have to get your parents out of there."

"So... where too?" Tomo asked.

Then Chiyo realized another idea. "We could stay at my summer home. It's far away from the city."

"Great idea, Chiyo-chan," Nyamo said, "we can stay there until help arrives."

"That's great, Chiyo-chan, but how about those things?" Kagura countered. "We can't plow through them. They're simply too many. We're gonna need a bomb to get past them."

Ryo had been silent most of the time. He had been listening to everyone as they made out their plans. When Kagura mentioned 'bomb', he suddenly turned to Ohyama, one of his friends who had a high score in chemistry. And then he realized that there's an idea that can work. He stood up. "Hey, I think I have an idea. Ohyama, come with me. Let's get to the laboratory."

"What?" The glasses boy asked.

"Let's go already," Ryo prompted. The two boys made out of the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Nyamo called out.

"No time to explain." He spun around to Yomi and Kagura. "Yomi, Kagura, we need your help."

"What for?" Yomi asked.

"We need you to get as much stuff from the workshop as you can. We need them for the lab."

"You got it," Kagura replied. "C'mon, Yomi, let's go."

"Alright," Yomi responded. The four went out.

"Hey, no running," Nyamo reminded them.

Yukari turned to her, "What's the big idea?"

"I don't know but we'll leave it to them. In the mean time we have to gather weapons and whatever we needed." She turned to everyone else in the room, "Everyone, find a weapon or something useful. We're getting ready to leave." Everyone responded and began doing whatever they could. "Yukari. Let's think of a plan to get out of here."

* * *

Sneaking along the hallway with subdued steps, Lorenz and Kazani crept to the walls on their way back to the classroom. "Lorenz," he asked, "what are you coming back there for?"

"I have an item I was gonna let a classmate borrow," he replied in a low voice. "You'll see."

Finally reaching the classroom, they opened the door slowly. They reached his chair. Lorenz opened his rucksack and pulled out something wrapped in heavy brown paper and twined with string. "What's that?" Kazani asked.

Lorenz unwrapped the thing and revealed it was a short-handled spade with a cloth pouch covering the blade. "This thing is a spade. More accurately, an entrenching tool."

"'Entrenching tool'?"

"This spade was used by soldiers to dig positions," Lorenz explained, "it's short and the blade is made of lightweight but strong metal. The blade could be sharpened to be used as a suitable weapon in close combat."

"Wow, nice toy for the zombie invasion," he replied, "but how'd did you get that thing?"

Lorenz paused for a while. He then said simply, "I had it before I was born." They didn't go on further with that and quietly left the room. At the laboratory, Ryo and Ohyama are setting up a unusual concoction while Kagura and Yomi carried tools from the third-floor workshop. There was an odd, powerful small filling the room. The two boys were working on something, Ohyama, the sleeves of his uniform rolled up, was mixing something in a large pail surrounded by smaller ones, while Ryo was manipulating tools with bottles, cans and jars.

"What's all this stuff for?" Yomi asked as she laid a handful of assorted wires and components on the table.

Ryo smiled. "Me and Ohyama have combined our skills to make our neat little contraptions over there." He pointed to a few crude-looking devices, which are cans other assorted containers with wires sticking out attached to some makeshift device and they're all wrapped with cloth.

Kagura's eyes widened. "You're building bombs?"

"Yup," he cheerily replied.

The two girls were amazed. Yomi asked, "How'd you do all this?"

"Well, I watched a bomb-making video tape before at a friend's house. Then you gave me the idea about how to make these babies."

"Why'd you need Ohyama?"

"Ohyama's got high stats in chemistry. I, on the other hand, knows how to tinker with electrical thingamajigs. I learned that trade from the family business."

"What? You got one?" Kagura asked.

"Yeah, an all-around repair shop. My dad fixes cars while my uncle specializes in electrical appliances and things like that." Ohyama had finished with with his mixture and began to carefully fill jars and bottles with it. Ryo then began adding the makeshift detonators and carefully sealed them with tape. Finally he wrapped them with clothe.

"Awesome," the tomboy complemented.

"They ain't awesome till you use them," he replied. Then added, "You might wana help. Maybe you can help us." The two girls joined in, Yomi with the mixing of chemicals while Kagura helped in the sealing of the bombs.

At the faculty, Nyamo and Yukari surveyed the scene outside, trying to figure out to get to the truck. Nyamo said, "I can't it would be easy with your suggestion. We can't get to the truck in time."

"But we can't use the stairs with those things seating there ready to eat us," Yukari replied.

"And the students can't climb down the windows," the PE teacher countered. "It looks like we need a way to get the zombies out of the stairs."

"So how the hell are we gonna get their attention?"

Osaka came in with a heavy box. "Wow, this is heavy." She then tumbled over her back and the box crashed. The two teachers nearly leaped to their feet and spun around.

"Osaka, what are you doing?" Nyamo said worriedly. "You gotta be careful next time."

"Sorry, Miss Kurosawa. I'm just trying to get somethin' useful." Osaka got up and brushed herself. While Kurosawa cleared away the things, she noticed a CD entitled Surfin' Bird. Imprinted on the disc is a band dressed in '60s formal wear.

Kurosawa suddenly remembered Osaka's cellphone and Yomi's experiment. "I think I got an idea."

Everyone returned to the faculty room and assembled in a semi-circle. Nyamo made a last minute check on everyone. "Alright, everybody ready?"

"Ready," they all replied in unison. Kagura had a bat, Yomi a fire-axe, Sakaki picked up a crowbar from the closet, apparently left behind by a maintenance staff member. Both Kaorin and Chihiro each have a piece of a pipe that fell of from the ceiling. Lorenz had his spade clipped to his rucksack. Tomo got a mop whose head was broken off to make a spear. Ryo, Kazani and Ohyama got golf clubs from one table whose owner enjoys the sport. That leaves three people without weapons. Yukari, still hasn't got any, Osaka, whose physical strength is questionable at the moment, and Chiyo, who's too small to fight.

"What are in those bags?" Yukari asked, noticing the heavy-looking packs Kagura, Yomi, and Ryo carried in their backs.

"These are bombs~," Ryo cheered.

"Bombs? Really?" Yukari was giddy like a child. "Yay! Now we got a way to waste those fuckers-"

"Yukari, watch your mouth," Nyamo scolded.

"Alright, sheesh."

Nyamo then turned to everyone, "Alright, here's the plan. We make a break out through the stairs. We'll have to punch all the zombies out of the way but we don't have to kill all of them, we could just push them out of the way. Just make sure they don't grab you. Once we're in the open, we should stick together and try to keep fighting down to a minimum, then we make it to the van outside."

"You mean the food van?" Tomo asked.

"Yes," Nyamo replied. "The dead driver isn't far away. Someone's got to look for the keys." She turned to Kagura. "Kagura, that's your job."

"Got it," the runner replied cockily.

"But what if he doesn't have it?" Osaka asked slowly. Everyone sweat dropped. A good question no one likes to answer.

"In that case..." she replied, "our best bet is it's still in the ignition. It's a risky plan but it's the best shot we have."

She then turned to Sakaki and Chiyo. She handed them the disc. "You too. Take this to the PA system near the prinicipal's office. Turn up the volume to the loudest and play it on my mark. That well disorient those things since they can only hear."

"We'll do it," Chiyo said eagerly.

"'Those things'?" Yukari repeated Nyamo's words. "Nyamo, why can't you just call them zombies? Aren't they obvious?"

Nyamo glared at Yukari with an expaserated look. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" Yukari incredulously, not getting why.

"Cause it's a cliche," Nyamo explained, sighing. "It's used so much that it's ridiculous."

"Want a better name for them?" Yukari asked. "Like what? Animus mortis bitches?"

Nyamo suddenly thought about that. "We'll stick to that."

"What?"

"'Them'."

That left Yukari puzzled a bit. Everyone then moved out. Nyamo fished the spade beside the doorway.

* * *

Sakaki inserted the disc and turned up the volume. Chiyo was looking at the hallway, waiting for Kurosawa's signal to play it full blast. At the barricade 'they' are beginning to get agitated. Yomi, Tomo, Ryo and Nyamo looked at them as they rocked the barrier slightly. Everyone else was carefully clearing the other barricade at the stairs at the far end of the hallway. Lorenz carefully unclipped his spade. He then told the others about how to hit something, "Remember, try to get them on the head but what matters right now is speed so just knock them out if you can. Don't let them get close to you or you're done for. Don't attack too eagerly or you'll be oeverpower you. And we have to stick together as a team and cover each other's backs, keep moving and never stop. That way, we'll survive." Everyone nodded in agreement but Yukari scowled.

She scoffed, "Great. We're taking instructions from you in a plan that looks like crap."

To which Lorenz sighed a bit and replied, "Pardon me, Miss Yukari, but any plan is better than not at all. I suggest you get ready." Yukari rolled her eyes and picked up her wrench. Lorenz's shoulder wound twitch uncomfortably but didn't mind it. There are graver matters in his mind such as if he can reach his mother in time. The very thought of his mother attacked by those things was very frightening, just as frightening as that incident in Hamburg which nearly claimed their lives, an incident that only few people in this school were aware of, among of them the principal and the school councilor, a necessity of confidentiality that put his conscience at ease. _Something I never told anyone here about_... he thought. He flushed such thoughts out of his mind and focused on the plan at hand.

Everything was tense. Nyamo was waiting for Kagura to signal the barricade had been cleared. Their plan depended on speed, timing, and quick thinking. It took several seconds, seconds that seem like minutes when Kagura should up. She let out a thumbs up, which meant the barricade has been cleared. Looks like the times is now. She whispered to Ryo, "Set the bombs."

"Alright," he whispered and took out a big metal paint can from the bag. He then primed the crude fuse. Yomi took out hers and he set it up.

"On my mark..." Everyone tensed up. They waited tensesly. It was silent save for the eerie moans of 'them' at the other side and the slight rocking of the furniture holding them back.

She could hear her own heart beat loudly like a drum. After a few seconds her eyes widened, the mark is set. "Mark!"

Yomi jerked up and gave them the thumbs-up. Chiyo instantly turned to Miss Sakaki. "Now, Miss Sakaki!" The tall girl instantly punched the PLAY button. The music began.

The speakers shrieked loudly, "_A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird!_"

Ryo and Yomi quickly flung the bombs over and ducked back. They exploded into orange fireballs, breaking the closely-packed horde apart and filling the landing with fire and acrid smoke. 'They' let loose guttural screams that seemed horrific and frightened them to the core. Nyamo barked to them, "Go! Go! Go!"

The trio picked up their scattered wits and left off to the other stairwell. Sakaki quickly scooped up Chiyo and carried her in arms as they ran out of the principal's office. The rest instantly flew off, weapons brandished and attacked the closet 'things' they could get. Kagura's bat crashed into the head of another, doubling over. Yukari brought the pipe wrench upward against the chin of one 'thing'. She cried, "This IS Sparta, bitch!" It was thrown back onto the stairs and rolled over, to have the back of the neck crushed by Kagura's foot. They brushed away light resistance along the stairs to reach the ground floor. They saw more stragglers on the hallway while the others have entered the rooms on either side.

"It's working!" Lorenz shouted. "They're being distracted by the noise."

"Yeah!" Kagura agreed. "Let's keep moving."They began to move out. Lorenz noticed Osaka lagging behind the others.

He barked, "Osaka, keep moving!"

Startled by his highly-accented bark, Osaka put forth a burst of speed, "I'm coming, Chiyo!" Bursting out of the stairs is Nyamo's party. He called out, "Come on, everyone, we've got to move!"

"Alright," Nyamo replied, "let's go." They ran and attacked the strays that were either left behind or got out of the rooms. One of them got close and lunged at Yomi. With a scream she swung instinctively. Her axe made contact with the head of a man in a suit, most likely an office worker who joined in the crowd, taking a sickly red-gray chunk off his top. The thing dropped before her feet, blood flowed from its exposed top, the chunk landing a few feet from it.

Yomi shuddered with fright. It was the first time that she killed something... another human being. Her arms shook and her grip of the weapon loosened. She backed away, only to turn around and see another 'thing' at her. She tried to scream but no sound came out of her mouth. In fear she couldn't back away, her legs petrifyingly stiff and it would be a moment before it sunk its teeth into her neck. But a hand grabbed it by the collar and threw it away from her. It was Lorenz, who attacked her assailant with a violent grace and fluidity she had never seen before. He swung the spade back and forth with lightning fast speed against its flesh, causing bits of blood to fly off from its face, then sunk the blade into its spine and recovered, kicking it away. The entire scene horrified Yomi, who could not believe this almost obscure foriegn-exchange student as actually capable of such feats, feats she thought she herself could not bring to bear. She fell back on the floor, almost fainting.

When he was finished, he then turned to Yomi and picked her up. "Miss Mizuhara!" He shook her. "We have to keep moving. We can't stay here." She then picked up her axe and handed it back to her. "Do not stop killing or running. We must reach the truck. _Los_! _Schnell_!" Yomi nodded weakly and moved reluctantly alongside him. They continued running and striking the creatures out of the way until the caught up with the others.

Kagura and Sakaki, who are in the lead, are temporarily stopped by a crowd, despite taking out a few more of those things. Kagura thought they have no way to get through. The 'things' are just a bit many but they can't kill them all. She looked around to see some of the oeverturned chairs; then she got an idea. She picked up one up. She shouted to Sakaki, "Sakaki! Let's pick up these chairs. We could use them as battering rams."

Sakaki nodded and smiled eagerly. She picked up the with the legs aimed at them. Then they rushed through, plowing the things out of the way. One of them was tumbled out of the way while another fell back and was crushed underfoot. It worked as the things were butted aside.

"Follow their lead!" Nyamo ordered and everyone went behind them. The last unlucky creatures to get caught by the two girls' battering rams was swiftly dispatched with one swift crack on the skulls. They've reached a place that lead to a little-known door that lead to the outside but it's locked. Nyamo and Yukari struggled to break it apart while everyone else sans Osaka and Chiyo fought the things back desperately, the two smaller girls clung close to the door. The music gave the fighting a surreal, fast-paced quality, a black comic beat to a battle for their lives.

Tomo made her first kill with the 'spear' hitting oe in the chest where the heart is. She pushed it away with her hand and revolted on the rotting touch. "Yuck!" she exclaimed. "Gross!"

"What are you complaing about?" Yomi retorted. "You said you wanted to this!"

"But don't like to touch these corpsey things!" Tomo griped.

"Aw, just shut up!" Yomi cried back as she struck another in the chest. Everything turned into bizzare medieval combat as the battle-capable members of the party held 'them' back hard. Kagura and Ohyama were keeping their flank free of the creatures.

"Yes!" Yukari cheered, "We got it~!" She kicked the door open.

"Alright!" Nyamo shouted, "Let's go, let's go!" Everyone rushed out of the door and spilled into the open, into more of the 'them'. Before he got out, Ryo rolled three Mason jars behind him, primed and ready.

He cried to them, "My parting gifts, bitches!" He ran off as they exploded violently into fireballs a few seconds later. They charged through the infested yard, butting their antagonists out of the way until they reached the truck. Yomi crashed her axe against the lock. They quickly unloaded the food items, throwing them at 'Them'. Tomo stabbed the ones too near for comfort with her 'spear', shouting about it being fun, only to have Yomi snap at her.

Yukari slid into the drivers seat jubilantly, only then to realize the keys are missing. "The keys! Where are the fucking keys!"

Nyamo replied, "They must be still on the driver, we've got to get them!"

"I'll get it!" Lorenz volunteered and sped for the corpse of the driver in the middle of the field.

Nyamo barked out, "Okay, we hold the van until he comes with the keys! Get ready!"

Everyone braced for the horde to turn on them. They did and began to amble towards the moved towards, no doubt they heard them and realized they were fresh meat. They moved around, their horrible stench filled the air and their rotten appearance had put fear in their hearts. It was a few seconds before they made contact, then battle was joined. Chiyo and Osaka climbed in while the others stayed and fight. They both huddled in fear at morbid spectacle outside.

Everyone struck back ferociously at the nearest 'things' they could get. Yomi, with a roar, crashed her axe at one head, sending it down to the ground. Tomo stabbed one with her 'spear' in the face and pulled it out, resulting in a casualty with an ugly hole. Kagura busted their heads with a bat, cracking them like eggs, hooting victoriously with each kill. Nyamo kept up the pressure near the driver's seat, trying to hold back as many of the fiends as possible. It was frustratingly bloody and she growled with rage as she took them down one by one.

"Fore!" Kazani shouted as he struck the head of one fiend with his golf club and it doubled over hard to the ground. "Now that's what I call a hole in one!"

They all seemed to score kills- except Kaorin and Chihiro, who was having a hard time scoring hits. They screamed their her heads off as they closer around them. They seem to kept coming and their blows are rather ineffectual. The began screaming as both of them dropped their pipes. With their backs to the van, they embraced each other in fright as they are about to meet their end in hideous, vicious teeth. Just as a hand was about to grab them, they heard a sickening crackle of bones. The creature about to grab them fell hard to the ground.

They both were stunned and their rescuer appeared. It was Sakaki. She then proceeded to bring down the others nearby with her crowbar, kicking one in the leg and stirking its neck with the crowbar. One creature tried to reach for her but she grabbed it by the hand, pulled it in and gave it a hard metal smack to the forehead. She gave a third a knees to the groin and finished it off. The sight of her battling the creatures was amazing but to Kaorin, it was very breathtaking! She was delighted, the girl she admires so much has come and saved her at her most dire moment. She fought like a samurai warrior, keeping the dreaded horde away from her. She seemed to have a sixth sense as she reacted quickly to the shambling things, making a swift countermove to stave them off. Her grunts of effort sounded very charming.

After finishing them off, she turned around to check them. "Kaorin, Chihiro, are you okay?" Those words echoed to Kaorin rather dreamily, her voice seemed golden._ She's asking me if I was okay?_ She's a lucky girl! The coolest girl of the school is really concerned of her safety. It was like a dream which thought she would never come true, but it did. Her heart beat vigorously, her eyes shone like diamonds, she blushed red. She can't hold it it anymore. "Kaorin," Sakaki asked, "are you alright?"

She let out a scream of joy, which startled her savior and baffling Chihiro. "Yes," she squealed, "I'm alright. Thank you for saving me, Miss Sakaki. I you owe my life! I-"

_WHACK!_

Yomi struck another of the things behind Kaorin. Tomo, who just skwered another one, shrilled out, "Whoa, I got another one!"

Kaorin's face was transfixed in her expression of jubilation and gratitude as shock repalced her earlier joy... she then exploded. Angered at her moment being shattered by them, she snapped at Tomo, "How dare you ruin it!"

"Ruin what, Kaorin?" Tomo replied like it was another prank she played on Yomi. "We just busted some heads." She let out a V-handsign.

"That's not it!" she cried back in rage. In frustration, she grabbed her pipe and attacked the closet thing she dump her rage on: a weak crawling creature. She bashed the top of its head, crying out in rage. She then panted, her exertions made in anger clearly tiring her out.

"I'll take her at the back," Chihiro offered to take her friend at the back.

"Yeah, sure," Sakaki replied. Everyone continued to fight them off while Chihiro brought Kaorin by the arms to the back of the van.

Lorenz raced through, striking at the _untoten bastarden_(undead bastards) until he got to the corpse. He slid down like a soccer player and quickly searched the corpse. Picking up his spade, he quickly got up to his feet and ran back. He shouted to them, "I have the keys! I have the keys!"

When they heard it, the others acted immediately. Yomi shouted, "Okay, everyone get aboard." They all climbed up on the back, hacking or kicking back any of the creatures trying to grab them. Kagura peered her head and saw the boy trying to close the distance between him and the van, the creatures seemingly trying to impend him. She shouted, "Come on! You can make it!"

It was tense. They were all around him. He was hacking the ones blocking his way but everything seemed slow and they were trying to block him no matter how fast he ran or how many he had just whecked with his spade. He seemed so far away from them. He can't give up now, he thought, he got too far just to falter now. He pushed such thoughts aside and with a scream, gave a final burst of speed. His eyes and hands moved by themselves as he either took out or weaved away of the things in his path. He had to survive if they were able to get out.

They all shouted to him get faster, trying to egg him through so could reach them. It seemed like a race to death as the things seem to amble towards him for their next meal. He finally reached them, stopped short of slamming his body against the van and tossed the keys to Yukari. "Yes!" She shouted, "I got it." He panted to give himself a breather before coming aboard.

"Okay, let's go!" Nyamo shouted and everyone piled on board. Nyamo ran around and got to the passenger's seat. She shouted to Yukari, "Start the car!"

Yukari plunged the key into the ignition, turned and the van revved to life. "Let's rock and roll!"

"Yukari, try to control yourself-" But Yukari didn't listened, she just stepped on the gas and the van veered forward. Lorenz, who barely got in, nearly fell off the back but got hold of the doors. He was quite literally flying when Yukari manuvered the vehicle at high speed.

"What is wrong with you!" Nyamo shouted worriedly.

"No time to talk Nyamo!" She replied. "This is fun!" She laughed heartily and veered to her right.

At the abrupt turn of direction, the passengers were nearly thrown to the side. Chiyo shrieked in fright as they got slammed to one side of the van. Lorenz clung to dear life on the doors, his hands were barely holding on. The van suddenly changed direction, the door he got hold of swung to the right and his body slammed against the side of the van. "Whoa, whoa!" He screamed struggling to hang on while he heard Yukari laugh like a lunatic as she mowed down a quartet of 'them' before crashing through the chainlink fence and into the bushes. He was instantly thrown back into the hold, landing on one of the girls. He looked down to see what broke his fall and recoiled when he realized he had landed on Sakaki and immediately got to his fours to move off.

"Hey!" Kaorin angrily and worriedly snapped,. "Get off Miss Sakaki, perv!" She eagerly landed a kick on his stomach just as he was about to get up from the tall girl, sending him flying with the wind knocked out of him. He tumbled over to the side and groaned in pain and his shoulder wound stung a bit. Sakaki got up a bit, somewhat ached by the landing.

"Come on, Kaorin," Kagura mediated. "He didn't mean it."

Kaorin's fury subsided a bit. Lorenz lay still and laughed. "We're alive... We're alive!"He turned to Sakaki and his elation from being able to dodge the jaws of death wore off and embarassment was etched on his face, "Ah, Fraulein Sakaki," he explained hurriedly in embarassament, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright," she said quietly. "It's just good we got out of here." He fell silent and adjusted his glasses, wondering if she really meant or was just as surprised as he is.

The van rocked as Yukari negotiated the rought terrain. Due to the rumbling of the vehichle, the remaining bombs of Ryo fell out of the van. "No! My babies!" He shouted in horror as his creations rolled out. They lay there as Yukari cleared the bushes and off the to road. Seconds later, they exploded, burning the woods surrounding the school. "My... babies are gone..." He said despondently. He then laid on the floor and cried, rather comically this time. "I've spent like fifteen minutes to work 'em."

Ohyama took a knee and patted his shoulders comfortingly. "Sorry, man."

After some rought driving Yukari slowed the vehicle down. Nyamo, who was slient the entire time, told Yukari, "Don't pull off that stunt again." Yukari didn't reply as they drove into the streets of Tokyo, their faces impassive from just having got out of the school. It's only the beginning of their oddysey to higher ground, an oddysey that would take to the heart of the disaster with all its horror.

* * *

Seems they realized how much hell has broken loose. Will they meet up with HSOTD cast? Time will tell. If you're wondering why I choose_ Surfin' Bird_ by the _Trashman_, try _Full Metal Jacket_. This my longest chapter so far, after **Grimoire: The Lustbound Heart**, that is.


	5. Intervention

**Chapter 5: Intervention**

Intrigue, baby. Well, that's at least what I'm trying to present here. Special thanks to Elred Bluegreen for helping me in this one, especially the introduction of the SEALs and USS _Turner Joy_. He rocks! This chapter will introduce badass SAT sniper Rika Minami and her sidekick spotter Tajima. It will also introduce a number of OCs, some of them created by Elred, others we're co-created. This is also the first appearance of private military contractors. What role they play is still a mystery for the moment. Please R&R.

_"One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half."_

-Winston Churchill.

_Earlier this morning..._

Tokunosu International Airport was Japan's second major offshore airport and her newest. Built on the shallow waters of Tokunosu Bay, the vast artificial island was state of the art and a marvel of engineering, just as its predecessor farther down south, Kansai International Airport, had been. The decision to construct it on water was made when the city government wanted to revive its economy by diverting trade from Tokyo and Osaka but with little land to start with and inevitable noise pollution complaints which scuttled the plans for the expansion of the Osaka International Airport, deemed it unfeasible. The plan had been shelved for years until blind luck came to chance when an oceanographic survey was made on the bay and the surveyor casually suggested to the governor over a few after-office drinks that it would be great to build an airport on the shoals, which were more stable since they're made of hard rock and guaranteed not to sink, unlike the silt bed on which Kansai International Airport had been built. What was thought to be a light joke was taken seriously and planning began once again, this time with renewed vigor. There had been some controversy due to the high cost of building contracts, which have been believed to be rigged in return for hefty kickbacks, and negative environmental impact but the job was done. The airport boasted facilities to service dozens of airlines and air freight carriers on a large capacity 24/7.

The airport's function as a transportation hub, coupled by its unique nature, naturally made it critical infrastructure, especially in the light of the 9/11 attack and Japan's own terrorist incidents during the '70's and '80's. The security of the airport, on a time of crises, is handled by Japan's elite counter-terrorist unit, the National Police Agency's Special Assault Team. Mandated to perform high-risk operations involving firearms or criminals that require an armed response beyond the capabilities of local law-enforcement, they are the country's last line of defense against terrorism and they perform specialist duties such guarding high-value individuals and critical facilities. Today, this was no exception. The moment the alert was given Rika Minami and her SAT squad were immediately dispatched to Tokunosu Offshore Airport for a briefing.

Stepping out of the helicopter carrying them, the SAT immediately conferred at the airport police headquarters to be briefed on the situation. The members of SAT waited on the room, along with several airport police officers and their colleagues from the Japanese Coast Guard's Special Security Team, marine police who man the patrol boats around the harbor and airport, customs and narcotics men, as well as types from the Ground Self-Defense Force. Some were talking to each other about today's events, about the total chaos they saw all throughout the city. There has been speculation among them about what caused it that ranged from a chemical terrorist attack by a nutjob cult like the Aum Shirinkyo to terrorist attacks orchestrated by the North Koreans or Al-Qaeda.

The police chief and several other men appeared, one in army uniform, as well as two Caucasian men, one with red hair and green eyes while the other had brown hair and blue eyes. Everyone sitting down stood up in attention.

"As you were," the police chief ordered. Everyone took their seats again. Rika recognized one of the men, Chief of Public Safety, Assistant Inspector Miyamoto of Tokunosu prefectural police. Also with him was the Deputy Commissioner-General of the National Police Agency, Eiji Sato.

"Sorry for being late," Sato, the Kansai native. said informally, "and sorry for keeping you waiting, we've got a a hell of a situation on our hands. I'm here on behalf of my superior, who right now is at Tokyo being called to an emergency briefing. He's shining seats with his ass." That earned a few laughs which died down quietly. Sato is known somewhat for his humor and he meant no disrespect by it to his superior.

"That's alright, sir," Rika Minami replied, "we've been here for just ten minutes ago."

Sato gave one look the assembly of law enforcement officers and sighed gravely. "Thank goodness you're all here. What we he have right now is nothing you've ever seen before." He turned to Miyamoto, whose expression is equally grave. "Inspector Miyamoto, the security disc, please?"

"Of course," he handed him the tape. He inserted it to the briefing rooms DVD player and turned on the TV. Miyamoto told everyone, "Pay attention, please. This is important."

The video featured a shot in a convenience store. Seen from the door was an ill-kept man who was walking like a drunk from a cold night, leaving the sidewalk. The security guard got out and approached the man, baton at ready while some customers and employees discretely stood by.

"_Excuse me, sir,_" the guard said to the derelict, "_please leave the premises. You're not in any condition to enter the store._" The derelict moved lethargically toward him. The audience watched curiously as the chain of events unfold before them.

"_Sir, please leave before I report you to the police._" The response to that threat was a low growl. Tajima's eyes widened as he watched.

"_Okay, asshole, get to the ground!_" he snapped. As he was about to grab his collar, the derelict grabbed him and bit him in the neck. The guard screamed horrifically as his assailant sank his teeth on his jugular and brought him down. Some of the people inside the store and other bystanders screamed or were petrified. One store employee began attacking the man with a broom, beating him with it while a customer and another store employee dragged the panicky guard in. The unfortunate 'broom man' was taken tackled down too. The people in the room stared into the screen as the horror unfolded before them, their expressions varied from surprise to utter horror. Then a police car swerved in and an officer came out the door. He was raised his pistol and ordered the man down.

The derelict tried to lunge at him but was shot on the head by the terrified police officer. The officer was seen coming inside to the store to check of anyone is okay. The officer played back the taped forward, causing an unfitting comedic montage of images going twice the normal speed, like an animation with missing frames. Then he played the tape again. This time the scene was out of a horror movie, everyone was like the derelict, with their inordinate movements and now their horrible appearance, eyes askew and grayish skin that seemed to be decaying. Some of the officers' faces contorted in disgust; one had covered his mouth with his hand. A large number of people crowded the store including police, SWAT, _Kidota_i(riot police), paramedics, etc.

"Hold it right there," Sato ordered. The video stopped at that point. He turned to the audience. "This was recovered by one by the police when they storm the building. Since there's no other words to describe it so I'll be clear in this one. There is a massive and sudden outbreak of an unusual kind spreading across the country and we're all caught with our pants down. What you saw here today," he pointed to image on the television, "is an example of it. Any questions?"

"You mean that's what's happening now?" One SAT member asked.

"I'm afraid it is, son," he said grimly.

"What? Like rabies? It doesn't look like rabies, sir," he noted. "Look's more like..."

"Something from a game or a horror movie? Yeah, it does, and that took us by surprise," he said gravely. "The dead coming back to life to attack the living is goddamn unbelievable."

"How bad... is this?" Rika asked him.

"Damned if I know," replied Sato grimly, he was greatly disturbed by the implications of the disaster, its lethality on a long-term scale. "In this case, I'll leave that to our liaison from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, Mr. Koji Ayakawa."

Everyone turned eyes to Ayakawa. It's not everyday they get to meet a _Naicho_ man. The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, better known as _Naicho_, is a relatively obscure arm of the government but not unimportant. It is the premier intelligence of Japan similar to America's Central Intelligence Agency, which reports directly to the Prime Minister. It's been criticized for being almost useless spending most of its energy translating foreign publications rather than gathering any substantial intelligence. But on the flip side, it has accused of spying on its own citizens on Japanese soil. The _Naicho_ officer knows that he is an outsider as far as the police officers were concerned. There has been a sort tension when the central government decides to intervene in any matter the police are handling. It was a psychological one but very a strong feeling nonetheless. There has been criticism of the government trying to cover-up any sort of affair that may involve it in anyway.

Clearing his throat, he began, "I'm afraid to say that we don't know the extent of the damage but we have sketchy reports that the entire country is affected, worst of all is the Pacific coast area, which is being overrun with these bastards. The entire military is on full alert and every law enforcement agency is being scrambled to contain the outbreak..."

While he was talking, Tajima whispered to Rika, "I hope it's not the result of an encore with that HIV-tainted blood." He referred to the infamous scandal where one and two thousand hemophilia patients in Japan contracted HIV via tainted blood products during the 1980s. It centered on the continued use of non-heat-treated blood products after the development of heat-treatments that prevent the spread of infection. Some high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Health and Welfare, executives of the manufacture company and a leading doctor in the field of hemophilia study were implicated in the scandal and tried.

"Hopefully, for Tokyo's sake," Rika said wryly. Ayakawa went on how other arms of the government are responding such as civil defense and the health ministry.

"And it's not just Japan but the whole world as well," he said. Then he clicked on the TV to show about what's happening around the world. There were images of this disaster happening throughout, montage of zombies engaging with military and police, of chaos and disorder in the cities, while the horrific crowds walked to kill anything within reach. Then he turned them off, facing the crowd. "Now you know what we're facing." He nodded to Sato, who then took the floor.

"Alright, here are your orders. SAT Team Tokunosu, SST, and airport police will secure the airport so we can secure transport for number of government VIPs and airport personnel. We'll have to this quietly so we don't have any panic in our hands and when I mean quietly, if you mention any of this outside this and I hear it, and I will, I'll burn you on the spot. Additional manpower will be provided by our friends from SDF." He turned to the man in camo. "All yours, Colonel."

The Colonel stepped in, "Okay, everyone, I'm Lt. Colonel Hiro Yoshida of the 1st Airborne Brigade. The other gentlemen in camo among you here are the officers in my battalion. Sorry for not introducing them." The police officers greeted their soldier counterparts. "Okay, to get things straight, we'll be helping to coordinate security measures for this airport." He then turned to the two foreign gentleman. "And speaking of introductions, we have two private security specialists right here."

"Private security specialists?" Rika asked.

"Yes, Miss..." the colonel didn't have a proper introduction with all of the members of the room.

"Rika Minami," she introduced herself, "chief of first squadron, Tokunosu prefectural police and SAT sniper."

He nodded professionally. "Thank you, Miss Minami." He then turned to the two men, who were quite the whole time. "As of this moment, the Diet had called in its emergency powers and hired two private security firms to assist us in this emergency. Both of them have extensive experience." He then introduced them, "Meet Jon Mason Kimball, representative of Omicron Global and Aaron Kuchik, Brushfire International."

Kimball, the red-haired man stepped forward and made a slight bow. He took a step to the podium. "I'm sorry for not giving you a formal introduction but right now time is critical so I'll get straight to the point. As you understand, the situation had spiraled out of control in just a few hours and your government, through its emergency powers, had just passed a bill that allowed private corporations to participate in national disaster relief efforts about one hour ago."

"What bill would that would that be?" she asked. Her understanding of current politics is negligible and she never really cared.

He replied, "The Civil Emergencies Participation Bill. If I remember correctly, it was a hot topic a few years back."

Every seated officer turned heads to each other with puzzled looks. The Civil Emergencies Participation Bill was a essentially a contingency plan where the government can hire private corporations to help in disaster relief efforts. It was the product of a committee which was formed to identify weaknesses to Japan's civil defense apparatus, and to a greater extent, Japanese risk management. It was made in the light of the Indian Ocean Tsunami back in 2004, Hurricane Katrina, and heightened tensions with North Korea. The report was sobering as it predicted that emergency services would be overwhelmed by the sheer scope of a super-disaster. If it was a nuclear attack by North Korea or a super tsunami/earthquake, they would find that Japan's emergency relief efforts would be crippled by half and recovery would take years, even a few decades, especially if it is a disaster involving key facilities such as nuclear reactors.

They then drafted a bill where private enterprise may be involved in massive relief efforts including security arrangements, logistics, and aid distribution. It caused an uproar almost on the outset. Opponents of the bill lashed it severely, saying that it gave for-profit entities a blank check for profiteering from a disaster, civil rights groups and right-leaning nationalist attacked its provisions to allow private military contractors to assist in security operations during major disasters. Critics expounded the dangers of outsourcing relief efforts. Top officers in the military were greatly insulted since the SDF participated in disaster relief since its birth during the 1950s and that a group of mercenaries should take over in the vital security role. The bill, in any case, never made it out the delivery room but its after-effects continued to hound its creators many months after it was proposed and debated.

Now, with an outbreak of a frightening nature they never saw before, the Diet quickly made it to law on an emergency basis. Everyone in the room had just realized that Tokyo had just hired two private military contractors and given them license to bear arms and operate in Japanese soil. While it looked like a desperate move, it made sense in given the circumstance that entire country has just gotten into.

"So... you're PMCS, right?" Tajima asked.

"Since we have no time for polite euphemisms of course we are." He then turned to Kuchik. "As me and my esteemed colleague from Brushfire right here are representatives, we're here to brief you on our role and await the arrival of our respective firms. I'm sure you're all surprised about that move, but in these times of crisis, we all need to do our part."

Kuchik cocked an eyebrow at his counterpart, before continuing. "That's right," he remarked, "And now that politics has given us a blank check, it's up to the esteemed," He said 'esteemed' as though he was forced to do it out of courtesy, "Mr. Mason Kimball, and myself, to outline just what we're going to do. Now, Brushfire ain't as big an operation as Omicron, but we've gotten high marks from our employers, and we're ready to go start kickin' zombie tail. We'll be focusing on search-and-rescue operations in hot zones and other small-unit jobs. Our boys come from little sporting clubs like, Marine Force Recon, Army Rangers, Delta Force, that kinda thing. We're more than capable of pulling it off."

"And Omicron will be focused on larger jobs where manpower is, admittedly, more of an issue, such as managing evacuation sites and coordinating with SDF units in large-scale military operations, logistics, and support, that sort of thing," Kimball appended.

"Interesting," remarked Rika, "I see why Tokyo employs you. Why not others like Blackwater?"

Kimball replied, "Our competitors are having their hands tied to hot spots all over the world. We're the only ones so far that are available in sufficient numbers."

"Yes, although ironically," Kuchik added, "our guys are running a little late since we're are currently based in Taiwan as of now, our drop-off point to the rest of the Far Eastern coast."

Kimball turned back to everyone and smiled. "We're running a bit late too since where having trouble to transport everyone and everything here. We'll be coming in larger numbers though since we also a have contract with South Korean government."

"We're throwing nearly everything we have into the Japanese theater of operations." For emphasis, Kuchik swept his arm. "And I've personally briefed my field commanders and my best operatives on the situation. I left nothing out. We're all ready to hit the ground running."

"That's all well and good, Mr. Kuchik, Mr. Kimball." The Colonel said. He had a thinly veiled suspicion of the PMCs, and every right to it, "Now, what kinds of numbers are you bringing in, respectively?"

"Brushfire's got about a regiment's worth of ops." Kuchik said.

"And Omicron will be providing anywhere from battalion to brigade strength. There's plenty of manpower to go around." Kimball informed. Kuchik turned away for a second and coughed.

"Showoff." He muttered.

"What?" the Omicron man chided, as if it was friendly jest, "don't wanna share the limelight with one of the world's largest PMCs and only one to surpass Blackwater in prominence?"

"No, I don't mind sharing the limelight." Kuchik scoffed. "As many men as we can get to secure the country, fine. I just hope you've got some respectable men in that brigade."

"I assure you that we cleared all our personnel before we hire them. You have nothing to worry."

"That's what you said when your guys were caught in West Africa accused of making a coup?" Kuchik asked. Omicron sometimes made news and his jab was upon the arrest of four of its operators and the confiscation of some contraband material, including a large quantity of firearms.

Kimball's smile faded away and he gave him an accusing look. "Now don't get messy there, Kuch. That was a slip-up on our part." His tone was somewhat unfriendly.

"Like that OK Corral shootout back in Kabul?" Kuchik replied. Omicron had been involved in a messy incident where they fought against terrorists trying to attack the facility of a US construction contractor. Several civilians were killed in the crossfire and the PMC was accused of using excessive force.

At that mention Kimball nearly growled in rage but controlled himself. "Better keep your mouth shut, wise ass. I've lost some good friends there."

"Enough," the colonel quietly interjected. He could clearly see that they were getting less than cordial. "Whatever you're talking about, you two better behave. We have a meeting set up in ten minutes and we need you to help coordinate the arrival of your 'respective' companies."

The two men agreed. As the colonel walked away to get himself some coffee, they resumed their minor skirmish in more subdued voices. "Listen to me, _Kimball_," he whispered as if his name was poison. "Just because the Japanese government likes your credentials doesn't mean that you get a get-out-of-jail free card. If you and your boys do something wrong, you're on the first bird out of here. Which suits us since we don't like you no how."

"Likewise you," he replied with a pompous glint in his eyes. "You and _your_ boys have to behave yourselves, like not snooping into our ops."

"Just like back in Myanmar? Someone like you ought to be hanged."

"Perhaps, if you have something to pin us down with. And with the approval of our current employer."

He was puzzled by his cryptic second statement. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not suppose to tell you that." He grinned. "That'll be breach of contract."

"The hell you will, I'll shoot you right now."

"Take it, easy, Kuchik. Old habits die hard. I know you're carrying Glock 'neath that jacket of yours," he pointed out. "If you want to, remember, this is Japan, not some cheap bar at Phuket beach. If you wanna shoot me right now, you'll have to face charges here. My suggestion, you should take your own life like how those Tokugawa officials do when they draw their weapons in front of a shogun, which is considered a very serious crime."

Kuchik really wanted to kill this arrogant sonofabitch on the spot but he was right, if he'd kill him they'd all suffer. He simply said, "Up yours. _Cocksucker_." They stared at each other like two alpha males ready to tear each other apart.

Rika and Tajima stood there, wanting to watch what will go next between them but their commander called them gave them their orders.

A policeman then greeted Kuchik and Kimball and informed them that the meeting was about to start. The two men walked along with other senior officials to discuss details of details of handling the current crises. As soon as they're outside of earshot Tajima turned to Rika. "Is it me or are those two not getting along?"

Rika replied, "Could be. And I have a feeling it's not just professional." They then picked up their gear and walked to their post.

* * *

_Later this afternoon..._

Gotou sat in the bench in his cell, hunched up and silent. He woke up in there after punching one of the soldiers aboard the Black Hawk. He woke up with a headache and was startled at first to see himself in this place. He then calmed down when he realized what he did to earn him this. He thought of the teachers and students who were trapped in there, most of whom he knew. From what he was able to recall, Yukari and Nyamo are missing. The straight woman and the party girl. _Jesus, they're gone_, he thought bitterly. Either as zombie chow or new recruits to the undead horde. If only he had bought enough time for them and the students to get the hell out of there, they'd be still alive.

He felt miserable right now. One of the things he'd been taught back in Basic was the difference between him and the bad guys are he fights to save people's lives. He remembered further when he told the young Rangers of of his squad that difference between the Islamic yahoos in Afghanistan and them is that the former uses human shields out of innocents, but the Rangers are the human shields - and swords - of the innocents. The failure to save them crushed him like a bug. He had that same feeling back in Herat... Herat... that day where he lost his squad... in a heinous act of which he should have saw coming... The one thing that hounded him in his sleep. Horrible, horrible images that plagued him from time to time, images - and the truth they contain - he would rather believe were not real.

The door opened, its screeching echoed throughout the cell block that made up the stockade, and a soldier stepped in, casting a long shadow on the hallway. He walked to Gotou's cell. "Mr. Gotou," he called out. "You're free to go. The colonel would like to have an audience with you." He opened and unlocked the cell, its hinges made a metallic shriek as he opened it. The man said it in a way one would addressed soon-to-be-free ex-cons having just finished their time. He seem to feel that way as well. Although the cell door opened, he didn't move until a few seconds later, standing up wearily. He walked out of the cell, being led by the soldier. They walked out of the stockade building. He was now outside in a bustling military base, he could tell this from the army since the aircraft around are mostly helicopters. The sun has turned crimson red, reminding him of Afghanistan. He could smell the dust and fuel exhaust in the air and felt the heat on his body. It felt somewhat good, and some bittersweet nostalgia.

They both got aboard a Toyota Mega Cruiser, the SDF's equivalent to the Humvee. He sat at the rear as the soldier got aboard at the passenger seat. He ordered to the driver, "To headquarters, please."

"Yes, sir," he replied. They drove off. The Mega Cruiser revved up gently and drove off. They never spoke the whole way. From the window, he could see soldiers marching in formation while others were engaged in various task such vehicle maintenance or carrying supplies to and fro. Others were getting off and on trucks, APCs, and helicopters. He saw trucks moving in and out of the gate. There are also some soldiers, he could tell, were idly chatting away in the distance, passing time while they await orders. Such scenes reminded him of the frantic yet orderly activity that took place before major deployments. They passed by a Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop airplane before stopping at headquarters.

The stepped off the vehicle and entered. He's now in the HQ, the command and administrative center of the base. Soldiers, mostly desk jockeys, milled by them before they reach the last room on the end of the hall.

"Mr. Gotou, good afternoon," greeted the principal as they got in. He was seated on a coffee table with an officer, drinking tea.

"Good afternoon to you, sirs," Gotou replied and instinctively saluted.

"No need to be formal, just sit down." He waved to an empty chair on near the table. The principal then pointed to the officer. "Meet our rescuer and my high school friend, Colonel Ichirou Tanagata."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Gotou greeted and shook hands with the man, who was quite a hulking bear in appearance.

"And to you too, hero of the entire school," he said loudly with a grin. He offered him some tea.

"I'm flattered, I just did my job." He took the cup and drank it.

"You were exceptional," the colonel went on. "If I had been with my men there, I would give you a promotion on the spot."

"Wow." Gotou grinned awkwardly. It was the first time since his discharge to meet an officer. And as a civilian as well, he was used to addressing officers formally. "Well, thanks for the help. I wonder why how you got us or even authorize the rescue."

The principal answered for the colonel, "I was able to send a text message to him after you told about what happened."

"And I went in on my on accord," Tanagata answered. "The moment I heard I got the call, I wasn't going to ignore my friend's requests."

"Yeah, but doesn't it mean you're going against standing orders?"

"Every second I delay, you'll surely die. My superiors' reaction to my action is something for me to worry about."

Gotou had to like the man, he had the balls to order a rescue of an entire school the moment he receives word that everybody's in danger without having to wait for clearance from higher-ups.

"I see you were once a member of the US Army before you moved to Japan."

"Yes, sir," Gotou replied. "I used to be in the 82nd Airborne and 75th Ranger Regiment." He then gave a brief description of his service before settling in Japan and explained the tattoos on his arm.

"Impressive," Tanagata noted. "Why did you want to be a Math teacher?" He was puzzled by the ex-Ranger's choice of employment.

"My uncle teaches Math at the University of Hawaii and he drills it into my head back home. You look kinda big for a guy here?"

"Me and Tanagata used to be in the soccer team," the principle explained. "He was the tallest guy in the team and he was made a striker." He then explained about their friendship throughout their school years.

"And as a former soldier of the US Army, how do you rate the performance of our country's soldiers today?" the colonel asked.

"From what I saw today, your guys did a top-notch job of making in evac. Their professionalism was second to none, outstanding. Sorry I punched one of your guys in the face."

The colonel stopped grinning. He said to him, "I know you did that. Why?"

Gotou sighed and paused. He had that guilty feeling again. "Well, sir... Some of us never made it to the chopper... There's still some people inside the school..."

There was silence in the room, clearly everyone was sobered up by the reminder of those who didn't make it. Tanagata spoke up, "Given the circumstances, that was understandable. We saved what we could save and you did exceptionally well there. I'm sorry for those who didn't make it."

"Thank you, sir," Gotou replied in an uncharacteristically soft voice. Not being able to save his colleagues and their students weighed heavily on him.

Seeming to sense the feeling of failure in the air, principal then said, "I think we need to get back to the students."

"Ah yes," Tanagata said, as if he knew it would help Gotou. "My men will take you back to the hangar." Both men thanked the colonel for his hospitality and stood up. They were taken back to the Mega Cruiser and were driven to the hangar where all survivors from the school are staying. The hanger might have used to house aircraft or vehicles. Now its filled with students, teachers and surviving maintenance staff. There are army medics roaming among them to check on everyone now and then.

"How are the students?" The principal asked one of the teachers as they got in.

"They're a bit shaken up but they're doing well, some of them are proud of Gotou," she replied. "How's our hero?"

"They got him out and had tea with the colonel," he replied. "Careful, I think he needs a break right now."

She nodded in reply and went back to her students. As Gotou got in, Makoto Koga approached him. "Sir, all students are present and accountable."

"Thanks, Koga," he replied. He then asked, "How many have we lost?"

"They didn't do a head count yet but the vice principal said several people are gone."

Gotou replied, "Alright." He sighed again with frustration. "You know how many we lost today?" he said to no one in particular.

"What, sir? Well..." He didn't know what he meant.

"Already too many..." Then both of them walked back to his class to check on the students.

* * *

Lt. Commander Giselle Bernard stood watch in the bridge of her command, the USS _Turner Joy_, DD-951. The ship was an odd addition to the US Seventh Fleet, whose mission is to patrol the waters of the northern Pacific region, which includes Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East coast, with the help of the Third Fleet prowling the waters near Alaska and the Aleutians. She is Turner Joy of Vietnam War fame/notoriety, whose mission in the Tonkin Gulf had led to the incident that entangled America into the Vietnam War. It served with distinction during the rest of the war and after it before being retired at November 22, 1982 and stuck out of Naval Registry at Feb. 13, 1990. She was turned into a floating museum at Bremerton NS, Washington, never to see combat again. Up until now that is.

More peculiar than its history is the ship's current mission and renovation. She and some of the remaining ships of the Forrest Sherman class which were supposedly blown up or reduced to scrap had been taken instead under the wing of a government-sanctioned private enterprise initiative. They were bought by a government contractor including the famed _Joy_, which was replaced with another identical Forrest Sherman destroyer. They were converted to be XEWVs (Experimental Electronic Warfare Vessels). They were an interim solution to the US military in its haste to catch during the electronic age, which is odd considering their age. However, the recession hit the project hard and the company was forced to sell the ships back to the navy. It was a godsend for the latter though, as the ships where in such an advance state of completion that they could afford to continue development until they graduated as Electronic Warfare Vessels.

The _Turner Joy_ filled the EW gap for the Navy while the Independence class Littoral Combat Ships were in the works. When the first ships of the latter class were available, there was talk of scrapping the _Joy_ and her sister ships, even putting them up for foreign sales. Such debates had put the ships under a legal and bureaucratic limbo until now. The pandemic crises that struck the world forced the US to deploy the _Turner Joy_ in lieu of the Independence class to Japan is it was the only available electronic warfare platform. Many trained crewmen testing in the _Independence_ were thus transferred to the Turner Joy, seaworthy the very next day and steaming for the Japanese Coastline. They were mixed with former crew members of the destroyer, who had been brought out of retirement on a special basis.

Bernard had been picked to command the ship based on her high qualification marks from Annapolis. It had been a week since they were called. The outbreak had caught the US with its pants down and the ship was immediately scrambled from Hawaii. Due to the secretive nature of the call-out, the crewman at first were not informed why they were summoned and when they were briefed about the situation, they almost went to mutiny by walking out and that was prevented by accepting their request to have their families taken out of the danger zones with the help of the Department of Homeland Security. With that worry out of the way, they set sail for Japan to to provide the 7th Fleet with electronic warfare cover.

In addition to this mission, it's used as the base for a rapid-response SOCOM command center at sea, with its rear turrets removed in lieu of a helipad, which in this case, would hold a specially tailored CV-22 Osprey. Due to its presence at Bremerton (On active standby, instead of as a tour boat) its Navy SEAL team are the first American units to respond, a function also meant for the Independent class.

She ordered a new heading which would take the _Joy_ to the fringes of the fleet's patrol area. She wasn't overly worried about the _Joy_'s capabilities but was not exactly confident either. While she can hold herself against air and missile attacks with CIWS and SAMs, they didn't receive upgrades to her SuSuW(Surface-to-Surface Weapons) package. Her only weapons available for combat against surface targets are her forward 5-inch gun and two torpedo tubes. Good for scaring the hell out of pirates and smugglers but not against serious foes. In any case, they're suppose to stay out of trouble as mush as possible due to their mission.

"Captain," the intercom crackled. It's coming from the combat information center.

"Yes, go ahead," she replied.

"We have Vulture-One on radar. He's coming home." Vulture-One is the the Turner Joy's CV-22. It was flown by Captain Tetrick, part of the Vulture Flight, which consisted of two others assigned to her sister ships, one at the Mediterranean and the other patrolling seas near Miami.

"We'll do," she replied. She turned to her XO, Lt. Howard Greeves. "Mr. Greeves, you have the bridge."

"Aye, Cap'n," he replied. She left the bridge and went to the CIC. She went inside, the officer of the watch greeted and saluted her.

"As you were." Bernard instructed. "Chief, what've you got for me?"

"Vulture One is reporting back with X-ray One. We've also got some interesting tracks on the radar, something on the jelly knife. Heavy jamming interference, but we've got the eyes to see through it."

Bernard followed the CPO to the radar screen, which was being manned by a Petty Officer that wore a ball cap from his previous ship, the USS_ Ross_. Due to the minimal time frame the crew of Turner Joy had to deploy, only a few lucky enlisted men received ball caps that matched the ship. The Chief pointed out the dots that appeared on the screen.

"Multiple unidentified airborne contacts. We see about eight. All flying towards restricted airspace over the Japanese mainland." He said.

"This isn't going to be another false alarm, is it?" She asked. The last time they had an airborne contact this big was when flight of C-130s that happened to have faulty friend-or-foe indicators.

"Don't think so, skipper. Last time, it was just a murmur, but now, there's a huge jamming signature approaching us, bearing 2-7-0 at 250 knots. Make that... a flight of eight Transall C-160 aircraft."

"Run this past the scheduled flights," she ordered.

"Done. Closest thing, a flight of sixteen transports affiliated with a Papa Mike, supposed to be approaching the South Koreans' blockade at a heading of 2-7-3. They're reporting only eight."

"Scheduled deviation? A redirect from local AWACS?"

"Negative, Captain. They're trying to avoid us. They're all going low over the water 500 feet, deploying jammers and traveling a stretch of water that isn't being officially patrolled." The Petty Officer added. "About twenty miles out."

"We're in a pickle." The CPO remarked. "We can keep our secrecy and let these clowns through to the no-fly zone, or we can enforce that and risk our cover being blown."

"Being blown to who? The zombies?" Bernard said sarcastically, walking to the wall and firing up the intercom. "This is the Captain. Incoming aircraft approaching the no-fly zone, prepare all Sea Sparrows for launch."

"Shouldn't we ring them first?"

"That's no," she replied. "The nearest ship is over a hundred kilometers and they can't get to them. We have to enforce the lockdown. "

"I was afraid you'd say something like that. " The Chief remarked, clapping the Petty Officer on the shoulder. "Nice job, PO. In the meantime, Skipper, seems like Vulture One is on final. You want to go meet them or watch Mr. Radar here?"

"I can leave you to do your jobs. That will be all, then." Bernard chuckling dryly. Her crew was such a mix-and-match of seasoned sailors, like many of her Chiefs, transfers from other ships, and fresh rookies. Despite this, she knew she had to trust them all to know their jobs and not seem like she was hovering over them.

"Aye aye, Captain. Call up the Warrant Officer, he'll have a blast. " The Fire Controlman remarked.

The best way to put it was what she'd seen in a cooking show once. 'Just walk away.'

Tetrick called on the radio, "Vulture-One to Pond Lady, I'm within visual range. Requesting permission to land, over."

The communications officer responded, "That's a negative, Vulture-One. Keep your head down, there's going to be a lot of little pieces flying around."

Perplexed by the strange answer, he asked again, "Eh, clarify, over?"

"Missiles away." Right before Tetrick's eyes, the silhouette of the _Turner Joy_ was lit up by missile propellant as her Sea Sparrow batteries began unloading their payloads. Fireballs streaked past the Osprey as it ducked behind the ungainly helipad that was proverbially stapled to the back of the destroyer.

"Whoa. They weren't kidding." He observed, before addressing his passengers. "Attention, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We've encountered some minor turbulence, we advise you put your tray tables up and lock your seats in the fully upright position. We are now approximately three feet above the ocean and are being passed by missiles which can be observed out any and all windows on the port and starboard sides of the aircraft."

The passengers, besides the SEAL team, were personnel from the embassy in Tokyo who were lucky to have the last flight out and they weren't amused by humor, being narrowly missed by the missiles, watching their awesome and frightening streaks out the portholes.

"Not funny," a clerk said aloud.

"Yeah," replied one of the SEALs. "At least they aren't Somalians with RPGs."

"Well, thanks for the analogy." The clerk nearly had a heart attack and nearly died if it wasn't for one of the SEALs who shot the attacking zombie. "Thanks for getting us out of that helllhole."

"We're able to make it out of the premiere screening of _Operation Frequent Wind_, directed by George Romero, screenplay by Max Brooks." He laughed. Operation Frequent Wind was the evacuation of American civilians and 'at-risk' South Vietnamese during the last days of the Vietnam War, source of the photo that symbolized America's failure in Southeast Asia, the airlift of Vietnamese civilians on top of the roof on what was thought to be the US embassy. In fact it was an apartment used as a residency to CIA, Embassy, and USAID employees. "No refunds for rowdy viewer behavior though."

One of the Marines who guarded the embassy asked, "I wonder what the hell are they shooting at?"

* * *

Their radar immediately alerted them to the Sea Sparrows targeting them. The formation of C-160s immediately activated their ECMs which would disrupt the missiles' guidance systems. They broke formation to give their attackers a wide berth and flew to higher altitudes. As an added countermeasure, they deployed flares and balloons, infrared and radar lures respectively to direct the missiles away from them.

From the window of one C-160, designated CV-7 on its hulls, the pilot saw one missile miss one of the planes by a few meters off in front of the wing while another flew over the back of another, leaving its cottony wake above it. In the cockpit, the high-pitched whir of the radar waring receiver was like a banshee's shriek, the crew struggling to keep focus despite of the sound. The men in the cargo bay braced themselves for a hit but they were uneasy about their own cargo, a high-priority package which they're carrying. There is something in the canvas-covered containers that seemed unholy to them, almost like witchcraft.

The crew watched one Sea Sparrow burst violently right next to one of the transport, CV-19. The missile blew up, releasing its continuous-rod warhead into the air. The burst sprayed its steel rods in the air around it, puncturing the the fuselage of the transport. The left engine took several hits, beginning to smoke, then to flame.

"CV-One Niner, CV-One Niner," CV-7's pilot called, his voice shaky but clear. It was never a good idea to panic at the controls of an aircraft, no matter how bad the situation became. "What's your status? How badly are you hit?"

"This is CV-One Niner! Taken a hard hit to our port side wing! Engine's on fire, I'm shutting it down. We're losing airspeed and altitude."  
Another pilot in the formation called in, sounding far more frantic. He was shouting something that was getting lost in the grain and static of the radio. CV-7's pilot tried to make out who the panicking aircrew was, but couldn't hear any words clearly.

"Pilot, we do not copy." He said, "Take a deep breath and report."

"This is CV-4! They hit our fuselage, we're breaking up! I ca-" There was a bright flash as the aircraft identified as CV-4 took another hit, detonating in a bright flash that illuminated the silhouettes of several surrounding planes. The pilot's hand grew shaky, but he forced his voice to remain level.

"Damn. CV-One Niner, you still there?"

"Affirmative. We're dumping some fuel. We won't have much of a space cushion, but I think I can hold this thing in the air for a few more miles."

The pilot of CV-7 saw, with the bright wreckage of CV-4 behind them, the main door of the Transall, CV-1-9, lowering, and several small shapes flinging themselves out the back.

"One Niner, did you give the order to bail out? Your security detail appears to be ditching."

"That's a negative. They'll freeze down there, but it cuts some weight. We've lost some response on the port wing but we'll hold this sucker for as long as we can."

"Roger that. Good luck, One-Niner. Seven out."

Just as they finished the radio report, CV-19's fuselage exploded, yet still held together. The pilot and co-pilot watched in horror as some of the men bailing out were consumed by flames, those that waited their turn were on fire, stumbling out or running from the inferno. It would have been a blessing not to hear them scream if it wasn't due to the fact that their radio is still tuned in to CV-19. They could heard the horrific screams of the flight crew and their pleading for mercy. The co-pilot immediately switched it off. He asked his commander, "Sir, what do we do?"

The pilot paused for a while then said, "Get the hell out of here and deliver the goods. We have to get higher." He then tuned in the radio to all planes. "This is CV-7. All undamaged aircraft must take evasive action and continue the mission. If necessary, destroy your cargo before you bail out. Out." He received an affirmative response from the others. The flight engineer, the third crew member watched CV-19 plummet from the sky like a moth. Then it crashed into the ground below, disintegrating its fiery remains all over elliptically, now its funeral pyre. He then cursed himself silently for signing up for this shit. He turned back to his instruments as his commander needed him right now.

**...**

"Captain!" Shouted the CPO, "We need you to see this!" Bernard immediately ran from the bridge and back to the CIC.

"What happened?" She demanded.

The CPO explained, "Some of the missiles missed their targets, almost like they have ECMs screwing their guidance systems. But we scored two hits and their breaking up." The ESM indicators chirped softly, indicating the ECM emissions from the planes.

"Jesus, what kind of planes are these ?" The Petty officer remarked aloud, almost couldn't believe a bunch of civilian transports could dodge a Sea Sparrow attack.

"The hell if I know." Everyone was impassive. Their faces were illuminated by the glow of the instruments of the CIC as they watched the radar tracking one Sea Sparrow to its target. Somehow something was wrong and it was just the beginning.

**...**

Using the Transall's one-thousand-feet-a-minute rate-of-climb, they were able to get CV-7 to three thousand one hundred feet when it took a hit on the right-side engine, rocking the plane violently. The co-pilot's first thought was outrage- damn the ECM and countermeasures! The flight engineer instinctively punched the "emergency kill-switch" to number two turbine. That cut off all fuel flow, shut down electrical power, feather the propeller, and activated the fire extinguisher. The pilot immediately pushed the rudder pedal to compensate for the right yaw induced by the loss starboard power and leveled the aircraft downward. It was a dangerous tactic, one slip up and it's a downward dive but he needed to find a place to crash land the plane. The flight engineer reported that the right-side fuel tank is punctured. The pilot was immediately going to dump some of the extra fuel out when something else came up.

The explosion shot part of the fuselage to shreds, killing the loadmaster and and some of the men. One man was down, bleeding on the side, and struggling to get up when he saw the containers having holes in through the thick tarpaulin covering. He looked down and was immediately alarmed of the sight of thick liquid forming a puddle on the foot of the cargo. He yelled to one of the men helping him, "Jesus! Tell them we have a leak!"

The men immediately raced to the cockpit, not so much as acknowledging his superior consciously but followed the order to the letter.

As the pilot and co-pilot tried to hold the plane straight in its downward descent when the flight engineer shouted, "Fire warning light on number two on!"

"Turn it off!"

"Done already! Everything's off."

The pilot kept himself away from the looking to his right. He had to keep the plane level until they could safely hit the ground. One of the men in the cargo bay broke through the door and warned, "We've got a leak in the cargo bay!"

"Shit!" Snarled the co-pilot.

"Alright!" The pilot said. "Get your asses out outta here through door! Move!" They must get of out through the door, not the cargo bay.

The man acknowledged and went back.

"Losing altitude," the co-pilot said.

"Wait," the pilot responded. They're plummeting faster than they thought. He must find a place to land. He was over a city, over some commercial districts with their quaint one- to three- or four-story buildings that house small- and medium-sized business establishments. His eyes frantically scanned for a flat place to bring his falllen bird down and he found one, a baseball field size of a small parking lot at what he reckoned a few ten clicks from the residential area.

"Ten degrees more flaps," the pilot ordered. He judged he had enough speed to risk it now. The co-pilot reached down to deploy them ten degrees farther, a fatal mistake that doomed the plane and everyone on it.

The missile explosion had the hydraulic lines to the right-side flaps. The increased pressure needed to change the settings ruptured the lines, and the flaps retracted without warning. The loss of left-lift nearly snap-rolled the aircraft but the flight crew caught it and leveled it out. Too many things were going wrong at once. The men about to bail out the door lost balanced, fell and slid downward to the cockpit. The pilot screamed in fury as he tried to control the plane, shouting for more power, knowing the left engine has already firewalled. Just as thing couldn't get worse, another factor came into play.

The nylon ropes securing the cargo were damaged or severed completely by the explosion. They snapped and some of the canisters tumbled free. Some of the men were hit by them, they screamed as they were smashed by them. Some of the canisters burst their contents all over the cargo bay and one broke through the door of the cockpit, breaking itself open as the door flew open. The flight crew were splashed with the foul-smelling liquid, screaming as it made contact with their skin and eyes. They finally lost control of the plane as they succumb to horrible stinging pain. The plane dipped further on the nose. The screaming was drowned out by the increasingly loud drone of the Transall's final descent. The irony was one man made it out, prematurely deploying his chute and was violently caught in the draft of air made by the plane's wake. His neck snapped broke and he flowed down the air like a macabre dandelion seed.

If he was alive just long enough to see for a few minutes, he could see the plane hit nose-down on the baseball field, bringing up dirt and debris, plowing down the ground roughly before hitting the bleachers, exploding into a tongue of flame all the way. The smoke clear somewhat and the dust had settled, the plane's remains were scattered like the guts of Judas. The wings were sheered off, the cockpit was completely shattered, scattered into a thousand pieces including the bodies of the crew. The tail seemed intact while the fuselage section looked like a tin can bitten off on the side, scattered about where the bodies of the security detail, some of them in pieces while other were intact, their bodies show signs of corrosion by what looked like a powerful acid. Some of them have expressions of pain while others seemed at peace, obviously killed instantly by internal trauma from the tumbling canisters. And scattered about as well are the broken canisters of different-colored liquids, forming a viscous puddle that resembled oil on water, mixing with some of the plane's fuel that didn't burn during the crash. Moments later sparks from some of the stray, frayed wires of the plane's electric parts later ignited the mixture, sending it to the air in smoke.

* * *

"Got a third one," the CPO said as the third target disappeared from the screen.

"Good job, chief," she congratulated him. Everything else was silent save for the hum of the instruments. There was something unnerving about the little action that took place.

Greeves rushed in. "Officer on the deck," one of the young sailors said aloud. All the operators in the room stood in attention.

"As you were, gentlemen," Greeves ordered. They all went back to their stations. Most of them were young men originally assigned to the _Independence_ and they have yet to get used to not always stand in attention in the presence of an officer every now and then, not while on active duty. He turned to the captain, "Captain, everybody aboard Vulture-One is safe and secure aboard."

She regarded him, "Thank you, Lieutenant. And contact 7th Fleet HQ. We're gonna have to write an incident report for some very unhappy people."

"What happened?"

"We just shut down a few transports belonging to a top security contractor. Send Tetrick and some of the men to find the survivors of the first two planes."

* * *

Author's note: This is one chapter I'm sure to be proud off. This one is the culmination of my discussions with Elred Bluegreen and it has finally paid off. There will be more though. If you're wondering who's Max Brooks, he is the author of the highly popular book, _The Zombie Survival Guide_, and critically acclaimed novel _World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War_ and the son of Mel Brooks. And the thing that Kimball told Kuchik about taking his own life like 'Tokugawa officials' is making reference to _seppuku_, the Japanese form ritual suicide by disembowelment and how it was used by people who drew their weapons in front of the shogun as either punishment or atonement for committing dishonor. Special thanks to my fellow author for the quote above.


	6. Escalation

**Escalation**

A/N: It took me a long time to write this up. I've been plagued with writer's block every now and then. It was a great deal of research and for me, I wasn't feeling particularly at my best, even now. Now that I've written it, I've my all my heart into this. From what I heard, **HSOTD** season 2 is coming up this year although I won't hold my breath. If it's not true, then it's fine with me. Anyway, I've made an introduction of one of the PMC's featured in my story, Brushfire International. I also brought in the **AD** cast as well. Please read and review, and forgive me for dedicating half the story to my OCs and one of my original factions. I especially, would like to thank Marshall Zhukov for some advice in CQB and her forgiveness since I bent and broke some of its rules in my writing. After all, this is my first time to write a gunfight scene. And there's more of them since I'm gonna introducing more players.

* * *

_"Unfortunately, the escalation of the conflict will continue."_  
-Vladimir Yevseyev

_Late morning..._

"We've been receiving distress calls from the insurance building across town for hours! The best suitable LZ is three klicks southwest of it, you're going to need to fight your way through to it, rescue any survivors, and flag down a chopper for extraction!"

The JGSDF colonel was yelling over the roar of the Japanese Blackhawk's rotors, rehashing the plan and making sure the PMC operators from Brushfire understood their orders. He was clearly one of the 'lead from the front' types, as the blood splatters on his helmet, bruises on his face, and the tears on the sleeves of his uniform evidenced. His Howa 64 rifle was slung on his back and had seen some heavy use.

"We gotcha, sir!" One of the ops yelled back with a thumbs-up. He was the team lead, a former Air Force Combat Control operator, and even though his Multicam uniform was still neat-pressed from the last time he'd stopped at the dry cleaners, he was by no means green. "Any estimates on how many people there are?"

"We've got nothing! We'll have two Chinooks on standby if it turns out to be a large group, and you'll have access to this Blackhawk for light air support and control!"

Another Brushfire operator, ex-Army Ranger, couched his marksman rifle, a highly customized M21 DMR. He was dressed similarly to the team lead, except wearing a boonie cover as opposed to the standard patrol cover, and had the same Multicam pattern sprayed onto his rifle.

"I'll be staying in the chopper with the good Colonel here to provide fire support on demand!" He said with a grin.

"So don't be scared if you see heads start popping around you!"

"As long as they're not our heads, I'm fine!" One of the other two PMCs shot back. Unlike the other two, he wasn't wearing Multicam, but a similar pattern called Multi Terrain Pattern, and he spoke with a Cockney accent. The last member, who was dressed in the same uniform type as the JGSDF Colonel, remained silent.

The helicopter was now closing in at the tall structure, a dark spire of glass and concrete shimmering in the high morning sun like an obsidian obelisk, a man-made monument glorifying mankind's ability to change the landscape around him and his will to dominate it.

The pilot radioed his report to his home base. "Castle, this is Shogun Two-Four. We have visual on the target. E.T.A sixty seconds. We are on approach to primary LZ."

"Copy, Two-Four," replied Castle. He then said, "Two-Four, can you see a possible secondary LZ on the top floor?"

"Affirmitaive, Castle," the pilot replied. "The helipad on the top floor."

"Two-Four, recommend that you secure helipad as primary LZ so as to facilitate evacuation of civilians."

"Negative, Castle, we don't have enought manpower for that," the colonel replied as he was linked through the radio via comlink. "We have to proceed as planned."

"Slugger Six, drone spots multiple low-heat signatures of hostile foot-mobiles around the plaza. It's too risky."

"We don't have much of a choice, Castle," he shouted over the din of the rotors. "Unless you can get the rest of our guys and yours ready in the air by five mikes or less, we'll have to fight our way to the top."

"Alright, Slugger, it's your call. Good luck."

"What's that all about, sir?" the team leader asked.

"They want us to secure the helipad but we don't have the manpower for that unless they can get anybody, your boys or mine, up in the air."

"Anything else?" He asked professionally.

"Not now at the moment." He looked then as they made there descent to the undead-infested plaza of the skyscraper. It was a beautiful spring day, a fine time to have a walk and see the cherry blossoms in full bloom. But that was marred by the horrific turn of events that began with the outbreak. Then the manicured plaza, a lot of what where once ordinary people were shambling like they woke up from a hangover, struck with partial paralysis. It gave a sense of visceral unreality to the men who, a few days ago, scarcely believed what was happening now.

"Thirty seconds," the pilot said.

"Okay, lads," said the Cockney, "Brace yourselves." The men sat up in anticipation of their drop.

The ex-Combat Controller shouted over the din, "Lock and load!"

"Ten seconds." The pilot informed them. "Standbay for drop."

The team leader shouted, "Game faces!" They all sat up in attention. Everyone tensed, going over their training and experience they had when they were still in their respective services. This contract was different from the previous VIP protection, law-enforcement and rescue training jobs they did before.

"Green light!" The pilot shouted. "Time for fastrope."

"Go! Go! Go!" The colonel shouted his order. By instinct instilled to them since basic training, the squad immediately went down the rope, touching down with precision and finesse. The first men down immediately unslung his gun and crouched down to cover for the others. The second man did likewise and and so that whoever else followed until the twelve-man squad was finally touched down in a formation that covered all corners. The only people left on the chopper was the colonel and their marksmen.

"Hey guys!" One of them shouted, a man with a French accent. "Looks like the welcoming commitee's coming to greet us." True enough, the horde of hundreds, with their dead eyes, flaying limbs and gaping mouths, turned to the source of the noise. They did a slow awkward about-face and marched to them.

"No, shit, Pierre," said the Cockney, a former member of the Royal Navy's Special Boat Service.

"Shogun Two-Four," the team leader radioed, "we are surrounded by hostile targets approaching towards us. We need you to open a door."

"Way ahead of you, lads," the marksmen replied. Within a split-second, a sound which was so sweet yet taken for granted before filled their ears, the song of a Gatling gun's barrels spinning before unloading a deadly hail of lead. Seconds later, a stream of tracers shot up through them, their limbs flaying in a macabre dance as blood splurted from the impact of the bullets penetrating their bodies, the tracer effect resembling bursts of a laser shooting through. Some of the brass dropped into the vests of the operators, causing them to panic briefly as they shook or pulled out the hot spent cartridges.

In a span of a few seconds that seemed more like a minute to the squad their oppoments were dead on the ground in a pool of blood, then the marksman quickly shifted his fire to other nearby gatherings, clearing the way for them, and drawing Their attention to the chopper.

"Door's open, boys. Good luck," he quipped cheerily. Then the radio went on again. It was the colonel.

"Slugger Six, recommend you take a flanking route to left, around the hedges and concrete planters, to the lobby. There's less of those walkers there. We'll keep drawing attention to us until you get there."

"Solid copy, Two-Four," the leader acknowledged. He relayed the order to his teammates and they stacked up around the left. He then instructed them some more, "I want three four-man fireteams in thirty-meter intervals covering each other. Our mission is to rescue survivors and secure the top helipad, we're enganging combatants only so watch your fires and don't blow away your ammo." _Combatants_ mean the zombies.

"Yes, sir!" they shouted in reply, all eager to bring the hurt to the zombies and save the day.

Two men were armed with a Steyr AUG bullpup assault rifle equipped with a HAMR scope, which is a toggleable hybrid of a red dot sight mounted on top of a 3x magnifier. Every third man in the team carried a shotgun, a FN Tactical Police Shotgun loaded with flechette shells, more effective then buckshot at 25 meters, having better penetration. Each team had a support gunner, who carried an IMI Negev SAW with a M145 Machine Gun Optic, a variant of the C79 Optical Sight, the Canadian counterpart to the Advance Combat Optical Gunsight(ACOG) as well as a MP-7 personal defense weapon. For more firepower, every second rifleman had a M203 underslung grenade launcher that fires either the conventional M38- 386 high-explosive grenade or M576 close-quarter round. It contained twenty 24g metal pellets and was used for clearing buildings.

For really up-close-and-personal encounters, each had a SIG-Sauer P229 pistol, a K-BAR combat knife and a parang. The pistol, chambered in 12 .357 SIG rounds, offered more stopping power over a 9mm, while just being able to fit in a standard-sized SIG pistol frame. The parang was a last minute addition, something that offers them a fighting chance against the zombies, which is better than the K-BAR; the latter being more useful for human enemies. In addition, they each carried their load of frag grenades, flashbangs, two Claymore mines. Each fireteam leader carried breaching charges, signal smokes and pencil flares.

"Alright, then, let's get to it, gentlemen. Let's keep the noise to a minimum."

They immediately made their through the maze of concrete planters, going through it as one team went forward until they reach a defensible point, from there covering the next two men's advance, acting as the rear guard, leapfrogging each other. They took out a few solitary walkers with precision. To shorten their trip toward the lobby, they climbed over the planters without breaking pace nor stride as though it was the assault course back in boot camp.

They finally made it through the steps of the lobby through its glass-paned doors. It was a 20 square centimeter-sized room with a sophisticated contemporary design in architecture, minimalist in tone although the walls were decorated with a few advertisements of the corporation which owned the building, reminding their commander of abstract art. There was a reception desk in one end and an adjoining security room with it. Next to them were two elevators and further from them was the main staircase."Two-Four, we've reached the lobby," the team lead radioed in. He down took a closer through the glass door. "Counting an estimated twenty to sixty hostiles within the area."

"Alright, clear that lobby. I have word that the Army is setting up an evacuation center and a Forward Area Rearm/Refuel Point in the suburbs in ten mikes. You can expect reinforcement from then on. Your mission is to reconoiter. Drone shows multiple low-heat signatures on several floors of the building. Seek out survivors and mark hostiles for me to take out."

"Roger that, Two-Four." He made hand signals to his men, they immediately gathered around him. He began, "Look's like we got ourselves an inside job." His favorite word for an Urban Close-Quarter Combat situation. "I think we're gonna have to reorganize." He explained briefly his plan. They were to secure the security room and from there they set up an impromptu command post for

They all acknowleged the new game plan.

The first group was quickly reorganized into Alpha team, the breaching group. The LMG man quickly unslung his MP-7, slung back his rifle, and got ready. He got point. They took the right flank of the the leader's fireteam, designated Bravo.

The third fireteam, Charlie, quickly took the left flank. Charlie's lead, Pierre, said to the squad lader, "I have your six, sir."

"Alright," he said. "Get ready for a takedown." They scanned the room for a while in silence, only the sounds of the shufflings, moans, and hisses of the undead, intersped with occasional growls. Despite the unsettling horrific appearance 'they' take on, the squad did not flinch, or at least appear not to. All around they scanned the number of undead in the wide lobby. The leader made a mental estimate about 'their' strength: 40... 60... 100.

One hundred it was.

"Okay," he said, "we got a hundred hostiles in the lobby, possibly times two in in the nearby halls and rooms."

"Looks like we got a party here," muttered a man, a Bangladeshi man with a small moustache. He was once a member Special Warfare Diving and Salvage Team, the Bangladeshi equivalent of the US Navy SEALs.

He broke down their orders, "Alpha team will take reception desk and security room. We and Charlie will cover your approach." He turned to of his men, motioned to of them to step forward. "You two, cover our six."

"Yes, sir," they said and took up positions near the entrance, keeping an eye on the horde outside who, by now, know fresh meat was inside the building's lobby.

He made a few handsigns, initiating the attack. Alpha team sprung to their feet, moving fluidly to right until they hit a corner. Their short trek covered by Bravo and Charlie teams. From there they the recieved the go signal. "Weapons free! Single and burst fire only!"

The reception hall was filled with the sounds of gunfire, the cracks of the AUG rifles and long chugs of the Negev SAWs. The commander aimed down his red-dot and burst-fired at the first zombie head he lined up with. He felt the recoil of his AUG on his shoulder and hand; saw a splatter of red as his target jerked back to the ground. It was followed by the cracks and bursts of other weapons, bringing down there targets.

Now they've stirred the rest of the horde, many of them slithering out of the rooms and corridors, some coming out of the stairs and elsewhere. Alpha team moved again, this time diagonally across the wide lobby since the ghouls in the side rooms appeared, taking time for two members to leapfrog, where two men would cover the forward advance of two more teammates, then the advance party takes up positions and covers the next two to go. They carefully stop to take potshots at the throng along the way.

Bravo's grenadier saw a particularly tight group of fiends coming out from the left wing. He flipped the sights up, angled his aim carefully and let loose a 40mm shell. The shell arched upward, glided through the air and made a direct hit, causing them to splatter sickeningly and all fell around where the shell hit them in there midst, the effect likened to a budding flower.

"Dropped them bastards!" he excitedly shouted before pumping the launcher open to slip in another round.

"Keep dropping them," his team-leader said. "Alpha has to reach the security room."

"Yes, sir," he replied and continued to spew out rifle fire and his occasional mini-artillery. The volume of fire the covering teams gave wasn't much since they only carried a limited amount of ammunition individually, forcing them to fire in bursts. Alpha squad managed to reach the desks, checking it before leaping over and rushing to the security room. They found it's door ajar and when they went inside, they found the body of a security officer sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood, a hand clutching a revolver and a torn arm. He must have been infected and committed suicide.

Not that it mattered to Alpha. Quickly, their team leader scoped up the gun and radioed, "Alpha has secured the security room. I'm gonna lock down the ground floor." Now they have their eyes and ears through entire building.

"Solid copy, Alpha," their squad commander confirmed. He then informed the rest of the team, "Okay, everyone. Alpha's locking down the ground floor. Let's hustle." He went back on the radio. "Alpha, you have control. Give us info about any developments inside the building."

"Roger that," Alpha leader replied. He then began to press some buttons to close off the entire lower level. Quickly as Bravo and Charlie left off, the security gates slowly lowered from the top of the doorways. The effect was similar to a dam, holding back the much larger crowd of zombies from joining the others already inside. They were also sealed tight inside with them but that's another

Charlie's Pierre quickly took point as the raced up the stairs. No point in using the elevators, they were death traps to the unwise. As they raced up, they got a message from Alpha. "I'm tracking you. We have pockets of survivors all over the building. Strength of hostiles isn't bad as it looks but stay frosty, they seem to feel murdery today."

"Roger that," their squad commander replied. "Anything we should do first?"

"We've got a group of survivors holed up in a large administrative area in the second floor. They're your first package."

"Opposition?"

"You've got to get through a maze of cubicles to get to them. And they're full of foot-mobiles. We'll monitor everything in case something comes up."

"Roger. Thanks for the tip."

They kicked down the door to the second floor. The working areas of the building's employees was a total sham, there were fallen walls of wrecked cubicles, overturned furniture, andbodies on the floor being devoured by the ghouls like vultures, a nauseating sight to those of the men who saw combat that never made the light of day.

The squad commander knew he had to be quick if they were to accomplish their objectives. He looked around and noted. "Look's like it's a gonna a tough one. Charlie, you go ahead and try to take the helipad. Scout out the building while you're at. We're gonna extract the survivors."

"Yes, sir," Pierre replied. He gestured for his team to move up with him.

"Alright, boys, looks like it's time to open up on them." He then gestured them to take positions and gave them targets. He then fired first, taking three of them in one burst. His Negev gunner opened up at the fiends with devastatingly accurate fire chugging downrange. His grenadier let out a 40mm and blasted a hole in one of the cubicles together with zombies of both sides of it.

"Stu! Take point," he ordered. "We'll cover you. Watch your corners."

"Alright, sir." His one of his riflemen, Stu, slung back his AUG and broke out his FN shotgun. He then moved forward. As his teammates kept drilling holes into the undead, Stu took a flanking route the took him to the right of the nearest cubicle. In it were two undead, a man and a woman. Stu gulped and grimaced as he leveled the shogun at them and pulled the trigger.

The buckshot flew through the air, knocking them back. He took away a good chunk of the man's while the woman was thrown back into a chair. He pumped up the shotgun again and fired another wave of shot into the woman. Her head was scattered around around in a grisly mess. Shifting his sights to the next cubicle, he swiftly swooped in and dispatched three more with his shotgun. The fire of his teammates lessened his workload as he cleared yet another cubicle.

A tight cluster of Them formed up in the middle, growing slowly in numbers. Sensing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Stu chucked two grenades from his vest. "Fire in the hole!" he cried and quickly pulled the pins and hurled them into the crowd. They were initially distracted by the clinking of the frags on the floor but They continued on...

Two powerful explosions ripped them apart, sending their blood and gore all over.

"That's a kill," his squad commander yelled. "Move out." They moved through the path that he cleared as he took point, alternating with shotgun, rifle, sometimes even pistol.

He stopped at another cubicle halfway. He crouched and began reloading his shotgun. As he did that, he heard the thump of the grenadier's M203. But that wasn't what got him. The shell somehow hit a ceiling beam without exploding and bounced off, into his position. It exploded near a cubicle wall, knocking him over and sending debris all around. His vision was hazy, his ears ringed and he then heard echoes. As he tried to get back on his feet, a ghoul popped out from above him and pounced on him. Instinctively, he threw a punch at it and swiftly made for his parang. He swung at its throat, slitting it but not killing it. He tried to get up but slipped back down on blood, he turned his head to see another ghoul approaching, walking as fast as its legs can propel them.

Then he heard a pistol crack and saw a hole, then a geyser of blood erupt from it. He turned his head back to see the Negev gunner grab his hand and stood him up. "I just saved your ass," he said to him.

"I'm sorry, Stu," the grenadier said remorsefully, "I didn't mean it. I screwed up."

"Save your apologies for later," the squad commander said to him. He then handed back Stu his shotgun and parang. "You're okay. Nothing really serious. Now let's get back to work." Then their radios squawked. "Come in, Alpha."

Alpha warned them, "Be advised, the hostiles have directed their attention to you away from the administration area and towards you."

"Damn it," the Negev gunner curse, "more of Them?" The crowd snarled, wailed, and moaned loudly, ambling like drunks towards them.

"Look's like we're screwed," the grenadier said worriedly.

"What should we do, boss?" the Negev gunner asked.

"Hey, boss, I think I have an idea," Stu said. "Follow me." They ran to left side of the cubicles. Stu stood on a table and said, "I could use the ventilation shafts to get to the survivors. Someone give me a boost."

"I got you, Stu," the grenadier obligingly said and got up with him. He helped him up an air vent, which Stu knocked over and climbed in.

"Yeah, that still leaves us in a hot spot," griped the Negev gunner.

"I think I could help with that," said the squad leader. "Shogun Two-Four, we have hostiles massing against us and rallying forth. Request air support."

"Copy that, Slugger Six," the colonel replied. "Engaging." The Blackhawk brought itself to the second floor. The gunner spun the barrels and fired, breaking down the glass and spraying death onto the hostile crowd. Its devastating broadside decimated them before another one was fired, then two more short bursts, to kill off stragglers. What's left was being picked off by the squad and the helicopter's two sharpshooters, the colonel and ex-Ranger sniper.

"Shogun Two-Four, thanks for the assist," their squad leader gratefully acknowledged.

"Woohoo, hot damn," cheered the sniper on the radio. "Wish I was with you, guys."

"Don't worry, there's plenty of fight to go around," assured the commander.

"Slugger Six, be advised. We are bingo on fuel. We're bugging out..." There was a pause. Then the colonel added, "The FARP is now active. I repeat, active. You can expect reinforcements in ten mikes. Your call."

"That's affirmative, Shogun, I request reinforcements now. We'll be feeding you intel along the way."

"Copy that, Slugger, out."

"Haha!" said the Negev gunner. "Look's like we're not so alone after all."

"Alright, guys, get back to work," the squad commander reminded them. "They're not gonna shoot themselves on the foot."

As Stu crawled through the vents with pistol in hand and his vest mounted flashlight illuminating the way, he received a radio squawk. He put it on talk. "Go ahead."

"Be advised, we'll have reinforcements coming."

"Understood." Inwardly, he was jubilant that they're coming but he still had a job to do so he kept crawling.

* * *

Everyone inside the administrative area were frightened by the shooting by shooting of outside their holdout. They huddled together in fright. They knew that they were gonna rescued by they fear getting caught by a stray bullet as much as being eaten by the abominations outside. Because of the large number of people hiding inside, it got hot very quickly. Some of the men had to loosen their ties and shirts.

A red-headed couple among them stayed together closely, having jitters from the sounds of battle outside. "I want to see our baby again," the woman whimpered in worry.

"Don't worry, sweetie, we're gonna see our daughter again," her husband reassured her.

They heard a sound above them. They and everyone else turned their eyes at the source of the noise. His body was frozen as it continued. _Who is that?_ he thought. He shuddered as he thought that one of the monsters is crawling above them, searching for prey. He held his breath as it went on. Then he heard a banging noise.

Some ceiling boards broke and an air vent grating fell into the middle of the room, stirring gasps from the survivors. Then they saw a pair of booted feet and trousered legs descend from the ceiling. Then a man finally showed up and dropped to the floor on his feet. He was armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and his Multicam uniform, while festooned with ammo pouches and grenades, had a spruce appearance, he looked like some sort of commando.

They slowly stood up to the their rescuer, all were relieved to see him.

"Ladies and gentleman, I'm here to rescue you," he said.

Then they all erupted into cheering that suppressed by some of the others. "Quiet," they said.

"Pardon me, sir but who are you?" asked the husband.

"I'm Stuart Belnik, Brushfire International," he replied.

* * *

_This afternoon..._

The sight around the van was a sight to behold. All around them they were greeted by wrecked vehicles, some of them crashed right into the buildings nearby, their doors and windows smashed by the chaos that consumed this part of the street. Nyamo knew that it was caused by people either breaking in, or out for safety. There are flames around the van, yellow-red flames licking out from their sources and their black smoke swirling upward. That wasn't the only thing, of course. Around them were corpses of the dead and the undead shufflers. Nyamo had a chill as she looked at the downed corpses, feeling that some of them were not really dead. Distant sounds of police sirens, occasional gunfire and screaming filled the air, heightening the already unnerving atmosphere.

The van bounced as it rolled over dozens of corpses, the occupants bucking slightly, adding to the sickening feeling they all felt. It had been like thirty minutes since their high-speed escape from the school. Moments ago, everyone saw and later fled with their lives from something out of a horror movie. Now, they behold the familiar streets of Tokyo, already chaotic and full of death. Death that rose back on its feet and attacked the living.

"Jesus..." Nyamo muttered quietly. "I can't believe this."

"Tell me about it..." Yukari replied offhandedly. They weren't talking to each other in particular thought, they simply had to say something, a ping sent out by Nyamo to see if the other person Yukari can still talk. Her reply was ample enough. Some of the shufflers they passed moved listlessly, seemed to give just a passing glance at the vehicle.

At the back of the van, everyone sat up or lay down in whatever his or her position was comfortable with, taking care not to stay close to the open rear, its doors flapping lazily with the motion of the van. No one bothered to close them and nobody dared to, not while the vehicle is in motion. It seemed relaxed in there, everyone trying to nursed back their psyches back to order, hoping they would at least comprehend the turn of events that swept them, especially as the adrenaline had drained from their bodies. Their eyes wide open as they stared into nothingness, to something that seemed illusory. In their minds they replayed back each scene as best they could, trying to see about how they were able to get out of the hell that was once their school, trying to see why they fought, why they survived and why others did not... what they are to expect next. Some, though, had realized that this was the first time they actually killed someone - something, they reminded themselves. Yes, it _was_ something, no longer human to them. Yet, the feeling of loathing for one's self over killing would not be assuaged by that logic. They never killed anything before and had no stomach to do so until they were suddenly thrown into it.

At the open rear of the van, some looked at the bedlam that had hit the city, some of the others who bothered to were looking at the flotsam that were wreckage of vehicles left in the van's wake, some of the shamblers and etc. Without windows, the open rear, with its doors flapping listless, was the only thing they have to look at the world out of the van, giving a vague sensation of tunnel vision.

Yomi huddled against the steel wall of the van, hugging her legs and her head resting on her knees. She was mumbling to herself about killing that zombie with the fire ax which sat beside her, its blade covered with drying blood and bits of bone and gray matter. Most of the people heard but were too drained of emotion to care, all of them lost in their own thoughts. Lorenz, one who actually bothered to listen, while it might have been convenient wallow back in his mind he can't just leave Yomi in such a state of possibly near-emotional disarray. Yet, he can't bring himself to reach out, he too was drained from their flight.

It seemed like hours before someone actually spoke up aloud. Tomo, after texting on her cellphone, finally said, "My dad's okay. He and mom made it to safety."

"Yeah... you're lucky," Yomi replied wearily, raising her head notch. It was comforting to know that at least one parent of theirs had made it.

"Hey, Yomi, I think it's a good idea to call your folks," Tomo suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea...," Yomi agreed. She then sighed. "But the damn thing - I left it in my bag at school."

Yomi sank her head on her knees in frustration. Sakaki, who was right next to her, placed her arm around her shoulder and held her closely, caressing her reassuringly. Yomi relaxed a bit and rested her head on Sakaki's shoulder.

"Well, now that you mentioned it," Kagura finally spoke, her voice heavy from all the tension they've been through, "let's see if anyone's still got a cellphone." She turned to Tomo. "Mind if I borrowed yours?"

Tomo checked her cellphone. She replied, "Oh man, my cellhone's just ran out of juice." Then a spark of on-site genius hit Tomo, a rare occurrence since it Tomo thought any sense, even rarer that they worked at all. "Hey, let's asked if anyone's still has their cellphones?"

Kagura sighed in frustration. Picking up on Tomo's idea, Yomi called out, "Well, let's see those cellphones."

Everyone voice their agreement in muted voices. However, the results were not very encouraging. Some, just like Yomi, left their cellphones at school. Lorenz fished out his cellphone slowly, reluctantly, almost as if he was too lazy to pick it up - in fact he just realized he still had his phone but didn't try to rush at all - and to his quite disbelief, it was smashed, reduced to nothing but a heap of colored plastic, crushed microchips, and stringy wires. He dropped it down on his lap and let the pieces fall away.

Tomo snickered at Lorenz. She chimed, "Ha! Tough luck, German boy."

"I don't think having a busted cellphone is funny..." he replied feebly, not even bothering to face her. Looking at him, Tomo simply thought he was just pissed off like Yomi to some of her banter and ignored him. Inwardly, though, Lorenz felt a lead ball form up in his stomach and felt like he tasted his bile as his only means of communicating with his mother is now gone for good... unless he made it far enough to meet her again. Now, he thought bitterly, she's in God's hands. _God... Where was He during that horrible winter night at Hamburg...? When we needed You most? Where!_ He sank back into his thoughts as everyone went on with seeing if they have even a working phone.

As for the rest, some cellphones have either no power or no credit. Everyone sweat dropped as their luck hasn't improved.

"So much for technology getting us out of a hot seat," Kagura muttered in frustration and sat back. They all sighed at their predicament.

After a few seconds of disheartened silence, Chihiro looked at everyone around her. She then said hesitantly, almost embarrassed, "Uh... my cellphone's still working."

Everyone all stood up and exclaimed in surprise like they've hit by lightning smart as a smart bomb. "What!" Tomo shrieked. That startled Lorenz from his stupor, who looked up to see Tomo standing between him and Ryo.

"Wait!" Ryo sat up. "Your phone's still working?" he asked.

Chihiro recoiled with her back against wall of the van, on the other side of it being the cabin with Nyamo and Yukari. They began to plead for her to use it. She struggled to keep her distance from them in vain as everyone beg for her to give her the phone, citing the different reasons they need to make a call for. She was stopped by the wall yet kept shuffling her feet to move away from them.

Hearing the commotion from behind, muffled by the wall separating them from the students, Yukari complained, "Nyamo, shut those brats. They're shouting like they got spiders in their pants." Nyamo slapped the wall hard, startling them back to silence. Satisfied after a few seconds of silence, she turned her eyes back to road.

The loud slap jolted them back into silence. Chihiro sank down on the floor and sighed with relief. Yomi quickly broke it, "Well, why don't we make a way to use her phone in an orderly fashion."

"Me!" Tomo jumped up, raising her hand like it a question she coud answer in Yukari's class. "I wanna go first."

"No, Tomo, you already called your folks," Yomi replied sternly. "We're gonna decide evenly for _everyone_. Besides, you got a call from your folks." She stressed the last as if to remind the wildcat again that she's not the only who needed to use it.

"What should we do?" Kagura asked.

Yomi then clutched her chin in thought. "Hmm... maybe rock-paper-scissors I guess."

"That would work," Kagura agreed. "At least it's fair..." She had misgivings if it would really work.

Everyone gathered around and made rock-paper-scissors. The first winner was Kagura. Chihiro handed her phone to her. She immediately phoned her parents. She said briefly with that they were okay. She explained she was friends. Her parents told her that they were fine as well and were going out to to meet with relatives in the country.

"Okay, I'm done," Kagura said. She handed the cellphone to Chiyo. Yomi, the de-facto arbiter of the group, called on the next game. After that it was Yomi. She called her parents, explaing briefly their situation.

"Yomi?" Her mother asked apprehensively.

"It's me, mom. I''m fine," Yomi answered. Then they conversed for a few seconds, "... Uh-huh... Okay, fine, mom. Good luck," she said over the phone.

"What is it?" Tomo asked.

"They've made it to the subway," she explained. "They say it's crowded but they took the first train out of the city, they're going to a town far away from here. They told me to stay with you guys until we could get out."

"They must be in a hurry," Tomo noted. "Hey, who's next she asked?"

They did another round of rock-paper-scissors.

Just as Yomi instituted the game of rock-paper-scissors to decide the use of their only available cellphone, the teachers were looking around from the front seat. Upon approaching the street, more vehicles, some of them burning, were strewed around like they've been thrown away by a giant baby in a fit of rage. There are more of the undead walkers around and louder screams and louder, more frequent gunfire in the distance. "Jesus..." Yukari muttered. "This is how bad the shit's right now..."

"That just the beginning," Nyamo observed.

As much as it was something to awe at, the wrecks in that part of the road were quite troublesome. Yukari cursed as she was forced to slow down and navigate the through the obstacles. It wasn't easy to get through without rolling over a corpse, which seemed to more numerous now, and its sickening crushing sound or nudging through some twisted pieces of metal that were once cars or trucks. Their passengers felt a slight swaying under their feet while making their rock-papers game.

"Hey," Tomo asked, "what's going on?"

"Is Yukari practicing for her driver's license?" Kagura asked uneasily.

Yukari's slow maneuvers caused them to sway slighlty and then she made a sudden jerk that made their charges lose their footing and tumbled on top of each other. As they get up again, they lost balance again from another jerk but didn't fell much as before, this time being thrown forward. Then Yukari shifted gear moved left, taking their passengers to one side of the van.

"What the hell?" Yomi asked as they piled up.

"Quick," Ryo called out, "somebody close the door." Instantly, Lorenz bolted to his feet, pulled back the van's rear doors and locked them securely.

"Great," Tomo complained sourly, "it's dark."

"I can't see," Kaorin squealed. "Miss Sakaki, where are you?"

"Whaa!" Osaka wailed worriedly. "Chiyo-chan, I can't see you."

"I'm right here, Miss Osaka," Chiyo called out comfortably.

Tomo felt the mess of wiry plastic in her hands. She exclaimed loudly, "Hey, Chihiro's cellphone is totaled."

"What?" Chihiro stood up in panic.

"Ah nothing-" Tomo let a squeal as she unknowingly bump into Chihiro.

The van slowed down once again and settled on the road. Nyamo was lucky enough to catch a minor breather. She turned to scold Yukari for her minor maneuvers but turned as she watched Yukari's face formed up into a smile, a smile she saw only when Yukari goes into road madness.

"Born to be wild, baby!" she cried.

"Yukari, no-!" Nyamo shouted but was cut off when Yukari shifted high gear and slammed her foot into the pedal. The van sputtered to life shot off into the street. Rubber burned loudly and Yukari cackled insanely while her colleague let a shriek of terror, darting through the streets in a zero-to-sixty rush.

Everyone aboard screamed. Sakaki lost her footing and her back slammed against the doors. Then she felt the weight of the others as they were piled up against her. She felt a tuft of hair on her face and an accented groan. Lorenz was now muttering some muffled words in his native tongue as he was sandwiched between Sakaki and Yomi, who turn was pressed against the wall by both their friends and the momentum of the vehicle. She tried to wave her hands, her muffled voice trying in vain to tell them to get off but not for long.

They finally rolled off her and tried to get up. But just as the scrambled to their feet, Yukari screeched to a halt, sending to the wall against the cabin.

"This suck!" Kazani shouted. Then it shot off again and they ended up in the rear a second time. And it became their lot, constantly hitting the walls and piling up on a corner while the English teacher gave no regard to their precious human cargo.

Speeding through like a meteor, dodging wrecks, and running over living corpses faster than batting one's eye, Yukari felt adrenaline stream through her system. That incomparable feeling of driving without rules had never failed to pump her up but doing this in the middle of a weird crises, with no police or traffic lights to stop nearly sent her over the edge. Her eyes dead set against everything that impeded her, either avoiding them or ramming them away, crushing the fender in the process.

"Yukari!" Nyamo screamed. "Get a grip of yourself!"

"I'm enjoying myself!" Yukari cackled back. She didn't mind about their students jostling helplessly in the rear. For the moment she was taking in the thrill of turning the wheel just in the nick of time to escape a derelict car blocking her way. Spinning the wheel with the finesse of a maniac, Yukari may have been a stunt driver if it wasn't for her undisciplined streak. She adjusting the wheel right to escape a pickup truck in her path. That took her to throng of undead, which she rolled over without a care. The moment she saw a large truck in her path she madly threw the wheel left, bypassing but managed to hit a street lamp, plowing it over. It took a good chunk of the van's front fender and crack the windshield.

"Yukari, what the hell!" Kurosawa snapped at Yukari.

Yukari turned to her. "Come on Nyamo," she cried back happily. "You're not having any fun."

Kurosawa's eyes bugged out of their sockets and she pointed to the front. "Then what the hell is that?" she shouted at her friend. Yukari snapped back to the front to see what Nyamo pointed at.

Looming in front of them was a massive semi-trailer with a large container van. It seemed to get larger as they were closing distance faster in their current speed.

"Holy shit!" Yukari cried. "Hang on." Spinning the wheel madly, she turned right, hit the brakes to stop. The screeching tires where accompanied by Nyamo's yells of their imminent doom. The vehicle finally halted, and the teachers where breathing like flopping fish on a deck. They were both relieved from their narrow brush.

When Yukari finally caught enough of her breath, she exclaimed loudly. "Woohoo! That was the greatest thrill ride in my life."

Kurosawa's head had a vein pop up in red, turned to Yukari and cried out in rage, "Thrill ride? You could have killed us back there!"

"Hey," Yukari retorted, "if it wasn't for me driving we would have been in 'their' stomachs by now. Besides, we're still alive-"

"This is the last time I let you drive Yukari," Nyamo warned sharply.

Yukari put on some puppy dog eyes. "Come on, Nyamo. Don't do this, my best friend."

"Like I'm gonna fall for that," Kurosawa said sarcastically, her cheeks puffed up in anger. But in the brief distraction, Yukari used it to get the van moving again. That caught Nyamo offguard, who realized that she used it keep her from prying the wheel off the mad teachers hands.

At the back of the van, everyone was scrambling around in the darkness. "Get off me, fatty," Tomo muttered as she was pressed by Yomi's body.

"Hey, your butt's on my face," snapped Ryo at Ohyama, with his aforementioned rear end on Ryo's face. That and several other muttered complaints and gripes sounded throughout the van as they struggled out before while it moved in a thankfully slow and more normal speed. But the darkness made it difficult for any of them to get their bearings and constantly bumped into each other. It had been a somewhat painful ride and the lack of light didn't make any better. Lorenz had to avoid falling over Chiyo to get to a place on the wall and sat down on it. Since he can't see, darkness or otherwise, without his glasses, he check the lenses gently touching them to see if they were damaged in places. Satisfied that the lenses were still in their rightful condition he put back on.

He pushed his legs up against his chest and waited for to get off at whatever destination Yukari was taking them while the others slowly sat into place. _I hope I get to Mother in time_, he thought worriedly.

Yukari turned the wheel to the right, taking the van into a side street, a narrow two-lane road. Everyone on the left of the van were nearly thrown to the other side, then thrown back to their side again. This continued for a while inside until Yukari swerved to a stop.

"Where are we, Yukari?" Nyamo asked as she looked around the street lined with stores and small offices.

"I have no idea," she replied as her scanned for any signs of life - or walking death. They got off the van's cabin and went to the back.

The van turned a little and ceased moving. "Hey, we've stopped," Yomi said. They looked around worriedly. The cabin doors opened then slammed shut. They heard the pounding of the doors at the back and the voice of Miss Kurosawa, asking them if they were okay.

"Yeah, we're okay," Kagura replied in a muffled, tired voice from the inside.

"Open the door," she commanded. There was a the grating of the locks and whine of the hinges. Kagura threw the door open and jumped off wearily.

"Thank god that ride's over," she said thankfully.

Yomi, who had shouldered her fire ax, suddenly checked her body for any serious injury. Then she gave a quick glance at her friends and sighed in relief. It was unbelievable how they weren't seriously injured by their own weapons in that crazy ride. She walked alongside the others, shaky from having to experience Yukari's hard riding firsthand.

"Man, I'm a little sore..." Ohyama moaned as he got down, followed by the moans and groans of the other students. One by one they got off and stretched out their bodies to get the kinks out. They parked near a convenience store. Its glass window was broken by a half-fallen telephone pole strung up, caused by an errant car that crashed into it and now lying on its back nearby.

"Hey, a convenience store," Tomo said. "Let's check it out." They put up their weapons on ready as Tomo casually approached first with her mop spear in hand.

She nudged the loose door open with the spear. "Hey guys, this place is still fully stocked," Tomo called out.

"Keep your voice down, Tomo," Nyamo said to her. "And be careful, I don't any of you jumping into any surprises." Tomo stepped forward first, cautiously entered the store. The place was a complete mess. The shelves have fell and turned over, spilling all sorts of goods. The refrigerators were broken with some of their contents leaking liquid into the floor. No doubt this place had been looted but it was all hasty and unruly as indicated by the surplus still around in the shop.

"Wow, guys," Kagura said jubilantly. "We're saved."

"Alright, guys," Nyamo said. "Stock up on everything you could carry." They all scrambled around the inside to get all they ever need for an extended flight. She then turned to Yukari, "Yukari, let's check that van." They both walked out as the students went about to stock themselves.

"Wow, freebies," Tomo commented. "Look's like no one's gonna cash or charge us on anything now." Rummaging through carefully.

"You seem very happy that everything's for free," Yomi noted.

"Hey, it's the zombie apocalypse," she chimed back. "Nobody's gonna care about not paying for leftover goods."

"You do have a point," Yomi conceded. "Just don't get too carried away by it." They started to stock on what would need during for the coming days. Sakaki went at the back to see if they would find anything to carry their supplies. Chiyo went along with her, clinging closely.

"I'm glad we made it," Chiyo said, being rattled by the trip.

"Are you alright?" Sakaki asked as she lifted a cardboard box off a top shelf.

"I'm fine. I don't want Miss Yukari to ride again," she whimpered.

"Don't worry, I think Nyamo would drive this time," she assured her. She then brought Chiyo close to her in comfort.

As their students scrounged, Yukari and Kurosawa checked the van to see any damage made during the trip. "Fuck," Yukari snapped sharply. "Our van's screwed. It's leaking steam out of the radiator, gas from the fuel tank, and oil from the engine block."

Nyamo felt frustration hit with the force of steel beam. She sat on the sidewalk and sighed loudly. "Wow, looks like we went from bad to worst." She raised her voice. "All thanks to you, Yukari, race car driver."

"What's with all the bad vibes, Nyamo?" Yukari asked with her hands on her hips. "Let's find ourselves another ride. There's plenty around here." She gestured with her arms wide at all the abandoned transportation.

She scoffed. "Well, at least you're not gonna be driving them."

Before Yukari could say anything, they were startled by the faint noise of gunfire. They turned their heads towards where the noise came from. The noise startled the gang too. Yomi asked apprehensively, "What was that?"

Nyamo broke through the door and shouted, "Hurry up. We're leaving." She lead them out the store and across the street.

The teachers led the gang, following the source of the shots. It took them to an apartment complex. They rushed through the hallways of the apartment and peered through the windows. The source of the gunfire was very, very easy to locate.

As the group watched, walking dead from blocks around converged on the epicenter of the carnage, a four-way intersection awash with glistening red blood.

In the very center, in the open, with no cover, a man wearing an orange vest and carrying a bolt-action rifle stood, panting from the exertion, as he drove the long, narrow bayonet down the eye socket of a grounded zombie, having earned himself a second's rest before the next wave of zombies reached him. Without hesitation, he made a quick search of the bodies, shifting one and recovering a blood-splattered M249, changing out the empty belt of munition for a fresh one he retrieved from a huge pack on his pack, and lay down professionally, unbothered by the pool of crimson liquid he was situating in.

He laid on the trigger, keeping the barrel steady, as rushing zombies began falling by the dozens, blood spurting out of huge holes in their heads and necks. After running out of machine gun ammunition, the man stood up once again and whipped the Lee-Enfield back into his hands, cycling the action.

"Don't make me resort to surgery!" He roared, in a prominent Welsh accent, spinning around and opening fire on the zombies that had previously approached, undeterred, behind him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Round after round, fired at a near-impossible rate, made contact with terrifying precision. Each of the ten rounds clearly went between the eyes, but it seemed a vain effort as the walking dead closed on him from all directions...

An enormous blast. And another, and another, as concealed explosive charges blew apart the street in one direction, sending dismembered limbs everywhere and clearing a path through the horde.

"Ha, I watched you all grow in test tubes, you'd think I'd be smarter than to fall for that old trick!" He taunted, stowing the rifle and taking off.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Yukari exclaimed, watching at the figure in amazement as he disappeared into the dirty, dark swirling smoke of a mangled prime mover set aflame by the explosions.

"My god!" Tomo shouted. "That guy must be some badass like Gotou. He just took care of those zombies out there like a_ boss_."

"No kidding," Ryo blurted. "The way he used that gun, it's like he has the Sleight of Hand perk."

"He must be a pro of some sort!" Kagura added.

"Quite down, you brats!" Yukari snapped. "This isn't Modern Warfare Zombie Mode."

"You mean Nazi Zombies," Tomo corrected haughtily with a finger held up high. That earned her a smack from Yukari, who doesn't take lightly corrections from anybody, least of all Tomo.

"Owww..." the wildcat moaned. She rubbed her head. "That hurts."

"We gotta find our way across the street," Nyamo said urgently. She scanned the surroundings for a hole through the horde of 'them'. There was a blind spot in the street. It was a staircase leading up to the second floor of one of the buildings. Nyamo had bet that there would none of Them would be around at the inside the building or nearby. It was a terribly high risk but she'll have to take it for the lack of anything better. She turned to Yukari and the gang. "Alright. While they're distracted, we get to the office building on the other side of the street."

"Gotta a better plan?" Yukari asked skeptically.

"Don't argue with me, Yukari. We don't have much of a choice now." She double-checked their surroundings then turned back. In a voice above just above a whisper, she explained her plan, "Let's split up into groups. Kagura, you, Ryo and Kazani are first to go."

"Yes, Miss Kurosawa," Kagura and the two boys in a hushed voice.

"Yomi, take Chiyo, Osaka and Chihiro. You four are next." The four girls replied nodded.

"Yukari, take Tomo, Kaorin, and Ohyama."

"Roger that!" Yukari cocked her thumb up.

Nyamo simply put a hand in her face in response to Yukari's inappropriately cheery self. Nevertheless, she continued. "I'll be with Sakaki and Lorenz to guard our rear. Any question?" No one answered.

Then Yomi asked the rest of the gang, "Got everything you need?" they either nodded or replied in whispers.

"Good." Nyamo was satisfied. "Kagura, you and the boys prepare for anything inside it." They all got up, ready and anxious to get moving again. A few minutes of waiting, Nyamo gestured for them Kagura and the boys to go. They ran as noiselessly as they could, giving glances to the horde at the intersection. They reached the staircase. Kagura gave shook her head, indicating no sign of immediate danger, and cautiously walked up the steps while Ryo and Kazani followed.

"Yomi, time to go," Kurosawa whispered. Yomi nodded and gestured for her charges to stand up. They went across the street shortly, warily looking at the horde. Osaka stalled in the middle and Yomi had to nudge out of staring at the horde.

"Alright, Yukari you're next-" Nyamo quickly noticed that Sakaki, Kaorin, and Lorenz were missing. "Yukari, where are they?"

Yukari made swift about-face, quicker than usual. She had the look of a bear caught in the headlights. She looked at her face, which was pale all over. "W-what, Nyamo?"

"Where are three of your students?" Kurosawa demanded.

The English teacher tried to respond, "Ah... they went-"

"What?" Nyamo snapped, frowning impatiently.

"They went back to get something," she quickly blurted.

"Damn it!" Nyamo cursed. She got up and turned around to fetch them."Of all times they have to go back there and..." Then another realization hit her. She turned back to Yukari. "You said they have to get something, right?"

"Uh... right," Yukari answered a little too eagerly.

"Or rather you told them to get something for _you_," she added bluntly. Yukari opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out of it, already it's too awkward to respond now. She let out a shame-faced smile.

"Shit!" The PE teacher's expletive startled Tomo and Ohyama. She turned to them. "You too, go ahead. Look's like three of us were told to the some errands." They nodded haltingly and got off. Nyamo stomped by and half-dragged Yukari along the way.

"Hey, hey!" Yukari cried. "What gives?"

"You and me are going to pick up those kids," Nyamo answered tersely. Yukari shook her arm free and with a begrudging look, went with Kurosawa to find the trio. Returning to the maze of hallways the passed through before, they jogged quickly back to the store.

As soon as they caught sight of the front of the store from a window, they knew they were close.

Then a violent conflagration of red and black burst into the sky. The store was then ripped apart, the concussion shattered the windows, forcing the two teachers to hit the floor, awashed by heat and showered with glass.

* * *

A/N: Like it? Please review. It would make me feel better if some of my readers told what they think about my story. And who is this mysterious Briton? Time will tell. He is an OC created by my friend, **Elred Bluegreen**.


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